Switzerland Halts Foreign Aid To Eritrea Over Refusal To Accept Rejected Asylum Seekers

Authored by Thomas Brooke via Remix News,

Switzerland has halted its development aid to Eritrea due to the African nation’s refusal to accept the return of its nationals who have been denied asylum in Switzerland.

The decision was confirmed by Michael Steiner, spokesperson for the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (EDA) in an interview with broadcaster SRF.

A valuation report from the Swiss foreign ministry stated that attempts to link foreign aid to greater political cooperation with the repatriation of Eritrean citizens had failed.

“We are currently not supporting any further projects in Eritrea. No further progress could be made when it comes to migration,” Steiner told the broadcaster.

The Swiss Federal Council initiated a development aid program in 2016 designed to improve vocational training for young people in the country in an attempt to help Eritrea build its infrastructure and improve economic and employment prospects in the country.

The program resumed in 2017 after the Swiss discontinued development activities in Eritrea in 2006 due to the political landscape at the time.

Switzerland had hoped that by providing financial assistance, Eritrea would agree to receive deported asylum seekers. However, the Eritrean government has only accepted voluntary returnees, showing no interest in a broader migration dialogue, according to the federal report.

There are currently 200 Eritrean nationals awaiting deportation from Switzerland, which the African nation is refusing to accept responsibility for.

From the end of May, no further financial aid will be transferred to Eritrea, though minor support initiatives may still be considered in the future. However, no new projects in Eritrea will be funded moving forward.

The Swiss government had previously expressed optimism that the program was starting to show improvements in dialogue with the Eritrean authorities, claiming in an initial evaluation report that “Switzerland has much more information about the situation on the ground than it did in the past, it has access to government departments, it has built a basis of trust, and it has created an opening in view of new developments.”

However, some politicians remained skeptical including Damian Müller, a lawmaker for the Liberal Party and a member of the House of Representatives’ foreign policy committee, who suggested a change in strategy was required.

“The fact that Eritrea continues to reject forced repatriations is proof of this,” he said.

The current vice-president of the same committee, Greens parliamentarian Sibel Arslan, said the policy was wrong to begin with and that development aid programs should continue regardless of cooperation on migration.

“The Greens have always been against the idea of mixing international cooperation with migration policy. This kind of linkage is mistaken.”

While Eritrea claims to be a democracy, many Western observers classify it as an authoritarian state ruled by a single-party system. The situation has led to a significant Eritrean diaspora across Europe, with around 7,000 Eritrean asylum seekers currently residing in Switzerland. The largest ex-pat community is found in neighboring Germany where 80,000 Eritreans live currently, many of whom are unemployed or work in low-wage jobs.

The Eritrean communities in European countries have often sparked civil unrest due to clashes between pro and anti-government protesters, seen most recently in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Sweden.

WATCH: Major civil unrest as Eritrean migrants attack riot police with sticks in Camberwell, south London. pic.twitter.com/277hHNTuDW

— Remix News & Views (@RMXnews) December 30, 2023

With Eritrea refusing to take back rejected asylum seekers, Switzerland is now exploring alternative solutions. The Federal Council is looking for third countries willing to accept Eritrean nationals who are subject to deportation. However, as of now, no such agreements have been reached.

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