Within the Swiss asylum system, a working group chaired by the State Secretariat for Migration (SEM) has urged for greater detection and help for prospective victims of human trafficking.
“The discovery and recognition of potential victims of human trafficking is the first and one of the most important steps in the asylum process,” the group said in a report published by SEM.
The panel – which included specialists from federal, cantonal, and civil society – provided a list of proposals as part of the national action plan against human trafficking, some of which were adopted by SEM and others rejected.
Potential victims of human trafficking will now be granted a 30-day reprieve from the standard asylum proceedings. After that, rather than a typical asylum hearing, their case will be heard in a special hearing, according to SEM.
Asylum workers will be better trained in spotting and dealing with such incidents, and potential victims will receive greater information about their choices for contacting support NGOs in the future.
SEM, on the other hand, rejected the concept of establishing an independent body to identify cases of human trafficking, claiming that doing so would result in “different procedures” in the realms of asylum and immigration.
SEM also rejected the idea that, in the event of a transfer under the Dublin system (where a rejected asylum seeker is “returned” to the Schengen country where he or she initially came), Swiss authorities should ensure that the person receives suitable treatment upon arrival in the new country.
Several human rights and asylum organizations applauded the findings and SEM’s response.
However, some of the outcomes were criticized by the FIZ organization for migrant women and trafficking victims, the Geneva Social Protestant Centre, and the Swiss Refugee Council, particularly the lack of follow-up for individuals deported under the Dublin system.
Potential victims of human trafficking, according to the organizations, are still not getting enough individualized support from the Swiss asylum system. Such persons, for example, require their own room or, at the the least, share a room with someone in a similar circumstance when it comes to lodging.
