Swiss parliamentary committee backs plan to deport asylum seekers  

A committee of the Swiss House of Representatives has approved a scheme to repatriate rejected Eritrean asylum seekers to Africa via a third country, such as Rwanda. Just this week, the British Parliament passed a similar bill—the so-called Rwanda bill. The House of Representatives’ relevant committee has approved the Radical-Liberal Party’s controversial proposal for a Swiss asylum agreement by 14 votes to 11. The proposal, which was approved on Friday, comes from Petra Gössi, a member of the Radical-Liberal Party in the Senate. The Senate supported her idea of repatriating Eritreans via a third country, although Justice Minister Beat Jans and his office warned that the idea could not be realised. Opposing opinions Balthasar Glättli, a member of the House of Representatives from the Green Party, is convinced that this idea is doomed to failure. “The problem is and remains that Eritrea does not accept returnees from any country unless they return voluntarily.” “Whether you fly them ...