Government announces new human rights institution

The Swiss government is establishing a new national human rights organisation whose goal is to further strengthen discussion and interactions over such rights in the country. To do so, the new institution will work at supporting public authorities, businesses and civic organisations to promote human rights and foster contacts among them. The concept is based on an idea put forward by the cabinet in 2009 stating that more services were needed in the area of human rights. At that time, a five-year pilot project was founded, known as the Swiss Centre of Expertise in Human Rights, or SCHR, made up of a network of universities and organisations. On Wednesday, the government announced it would now build on that pilot project to develop a full-fledged institution based on United Nations recommendations. The new offering is meant to act independently of the Swiss government to provide expertise and networking in the area of human rights. It is to maintain strong ties ...