Gaza: 40 organizations call on the SEM and the FDFA regarding the denial of humanitarian visas on the grounds of a “lack of manifest danger”

Through its legal representation in Ramallah, Switzerland refuses to acknowledge the life-threatening emergency currently unfolding in Gaza! As illustrated by the case of Ayoub and Hanan, documented by the ODAE Romand (see appendix), families in Gaza who are in grave danger and have ties to Switzerland are having their applications for humanitarian visas rejected by the Swiss embassy on the grounds of a “lack of manifest danger”! (see decision in the appendix).

In a recent RTS report on the issuance of visas to Gaza residents, the SEM spokesperson stated that the only obstacle to granting them visas was the need to establish the applicants’ identities. However, in the case of Ayoub and Hanan-as in that of many other families we are assisting-no doubts have been raised regarding their identities. There is no justification for such a refusal, which amounts to simply abandoning these people to almost certain death.

Since the 2013 elimination of the option to file an asylum application at Swiss embassies abroad, the humanitarian visa has been the only way to seek protection from Switzerland while abroad. Presented as an effective tool in cases of serious personal danger, it was precisely used as an argument to justify the elimination of asylum at embassies. According to the SEM’s 2023 directive on the matter, it must be issued in cases of a “particular situation of distress,” a “direct” and “serious” threat to the applicant’s life, and provided that the person has ties to Switzerland.

In Gaza, the danger is now beyond dispute: since October 7, 2023, more than 73.000 people have been killed by the Israeli army in Gaza, a large proportion of whom are children. An independent United Nations commission of inquiry, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Occupied Territories Francesca Albanese, and several leading human rights organizations have concluded that genocide is underway in Gaza. The destruction of the enclave’s vital infrastructure has been documented by numerous international organizations. On June 8, Switzerland itself joined a statement-signed by 19 states-expressing alarm over the “catastrophic” humanitarian situation in Gaza. In this context, it is incomprehensible that the embassy could assert that “the alleged danger does not constitute a specific emergency.”

The signatory organizations demand that the SEM and the FDFA fully grasp the gravity of these issues and:
- that the Swiss mission in Ramallah be instructed to process all applications for humanitarian visas submitted by individuals from Gaza with ties to Switzerland-including those currently undergoing asylum proceedings in Switzerland, given the high likelihood that they will be granted a residence permit;
- that visa applications, as well as objections submitted to the SEM, be processed with the utmost urgency, given the life-threatening risks faced by the individuals concerned;
- that the collective persecution suffered by Palestinians, including those in the West Bank, be officially recognized, and that they be granted asylum.

Signatories:
Caritas Genève, CSP Genève, Coordination asile Genève, Droit de rester Fribourg, Droit de rester Neuchâtel, Droit de rester Valais, Droit de rester Vaud, elisa-asile, Freiplatzaktion Basel, Freiplatzaktion Zurich, Pikett Asyl, Solidarité sans frontières, Solidarité Tattes, Les Vert-e-s, solidaritéS, POP Vaud, Union Populaire, Jeunesse solidaire Genève, LSDH Genève, Juristes démocrates de Suisse, Grève féministe Vaud, Grève féministe Genève, Grève féministe Fribourg, Grève féministe Neuchâtel, Association suisse des avocat·es pour la Palestine (ASAP), Waves of Freedom Switzerland, CUP Vaud, CUP Genève, Valais Palestine, Les Foulards Violets, Contre-attaque & autonomie, Centre socioculturel Pôle Sud, le Silure, CRAQ Genève, Collectif anticapitaliste Fribourg, Das Was Fribourg, Soignantexs pour la Palestine, Coordination étudiante pour la Palestine Genève, Marad collectif juif décolonial suisse romand, Bewegung für den Sozialismus/ Mouvement pour le Socialisme (MPS/BFS)..