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TITLE: SWITZERLAND HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
SWITZERLAND
Switzerland is a constitutional democracy with a federal
structure. Legislative power is vested in a bicameral
Parliament. Given the nation's linguistic and religious
diversity, the Swiss political system emphasizes local and
national political consensus and grants considerable autonomy
to individual cantons. Police duties are primarily a
responsibility of the individual cantons, which have their own
distinct police forces. The national police authority has a
coordinating role and relies on the cantons for actual law
enforcement.
Switzerland's free enterprise industrial and service economy,
highly dependent on international trade, provides a very high
standard of living. Although unemployment in 1993 reached
unusually high levels, traditional labor peace persisted.
Human rights are widely respected. The headquarters of major
international human rights and humanitarian affairs
organizations are located in Switzerland. In June Parliament
ratified the 1965 U.N. Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Racial Discrimination. However, rightwing opponents
are seeking to overturn the implementing legislation via a
popular referendum. Switzerland has antiforeigner elements who
express themselves through violence. There were a number of
violent incidents in 1993, but fewer than in each of the
2 previous years.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no political or other extrajudicial killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of abductions or disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution proscribes such practices, and there were no
reports of any violations. There were no reports of police
beatings or other abuse.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Freedom from arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile is provided
by law. A detained person may not be held longer than 24 hours
without a warrant of arrest issued by the magistrate conducting
the preliminary investigation. A suspect must immediately be
shown the warrant and has the right to contact legal counsel as
soon as a warrant is issued. A suspect may be detained with a
warrant until an investigation is completed, but the length of
investigative detention is always reviewed by higher judicial
authority, and investigations are typically completed quickly.
Release on personal recognizance or bail is granted unless the
examining magistrate believes the person is a danger to society
or will not appear for trial.
There is no summary exile, nor is exile used as a means of
political control, although non-Swiss convicted of crimes may
receive sentences which include denial of reentry for a
specific period following completion of a prison sentence.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for public trials. All courts of
first instance are cantonal courts, with right of appeal to the
federal courts and freedom from interference by other branches
of government. Minor cases are tried by a single judge,
difficult cases by a panel of judges, and murder or other
serious crimes by a public jury. Even the most serious cases
are usually brought to trial within a few months. There are no
political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
Police entry into the premises of a person suspected of a
criminal offense is regulated by cantonal legislation.
Regulations differ widely from canton to canton, but not,
apparently, to the extent that they provide potential for
abuse. There were no reports of abuse in 1993.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
An independent press, effective judiciary, and democratic
political system combine to ensure freedom of speech and
press. Groups or associations determined to be a potential
threat to the State may have restrictions placed on their
freedom of speech and press. No groups were restricted during
the year.
Federal antiracism legislation, enacted in June, but not yet in
force, would permit the Federal Government to place
restrictions--including speech and press restraints--on groups
engaging in or advocating racial discrimination. No groups are
currently restricted. The new legislation is controversial and
may be submitted to Swiss voters for approval--perhaps in
mid-1994--prior to its implementation. Most broadcast media
are government-funded but possess editorial autonomy, and
foreign broadcast media are freely available. Press and
publishing are owned by private enterprises operated without
government intervention. Academic freedom is respected.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The only restriction on peaceful assembly and association is a
requirement to obtain permits from police authorities before
holding public meetings. These are routinely granted unless
authorities have reason to believe the meeting will lead to
violence.
c. Freedom of Religion
Switzerland enjoys religious freedom. There is no single state
church, but individual cantons may support a particular church
out of public funds, and most cantons do. Foreign clergy are
free to perform their duties. The degree to which minority
religious communities are explicitly recognized in law varies
among the cantons. Most cantons do not accord Jewish and other
non-Christian religious communities the specific legal
recognition and tax privileges enjoyed by the Catholic and
Protestant churches.
The legal requirement for universal male military service
provides no exemption for conscientious objectors. They may
apply for military service which does not entail bearing arms,
but refusal to serve has nearly always led to prosecution and
conviction. A 1991 law stipulates that refusal to serve is a
punishable offense, but if the refusal stems from reasons of
conscience, the prescribed sentence is a period of alternative
community service--up to a maximum of 6 months (which entails
no criminal record)--rather than prison. Those objecting to
military service on grounds of conscience which are not
recognized by the military tribunals--such as political
grounds--and those failing to convince the tribunals that their
refusal of military service is based on fundamental ethical
values, continue to receive prison sentences and a criminal
record. However, Swiss voters gave the Federal Government a
mandate in May 1992 to draft a new law abolishing the
distinction between these two categories. The legislation was
still in preparation in late 1993.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Swiss citizens have freedom to travel in or outside the country
and can emigrate without difficulty. Switzerland has
traditionally been a haven for refugees, but public concern
over the growing number of asylum seekers, many of whom
apparently come for economic reasons, generated pressure on the
Government to implement swifter processing of asylum seekers in
1992 and to expel more quickly those whose applications are
rejected. These expedited procedures remained in effect for
1993.
There were some violent attacks against asylum seekers in 1993,
including three arson attempts against asylum residences.
Fewer such attacks occurred, however, than in each of the 2
previous years. Refugees whose applications are rejected are
allowed to stay temporarily if their home country is torn by
war or insurrection.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Switzerland is a highly developed constitutional democracy.
There is universal adult suffrage by secret ballot in federal
elections. There is universal adult suffrage in cantonal
elections as well, but a few half-cantons still retain the
traditional "assembly of the people" style of voting by raising
hands rather than by secret ballot. Elections are free and
contested actively by four major national parties and at least
a dozen significant regional or minor parties. Initiative and
referendum procedures provide unusually intense popular
involvement in the legislative process.
Participation by women in politics has been limited
historically but continues to expand slowly. Most women who
would participate at the top levels of national political life
continued to face psychological, social, and economic
barriers. However, gradual improvement has taken place.
Although Swiss women have had the vote for only 22 years, they
hold about 16 percent of the seats in Parliament. The
Parliamentary Faction Leader of the Social Democrats, one of
the four parties in the governing coalition, is a woman, six
women serve on cantonal executive councils, the Department for
Foreign Affairs has three female ambassadors, and a woman is
General Secretary of the Federal Assembly, one of the highest
offices in the government administration. In March Ruth
Dreifuss was elected to the seven-member Federal Council
(cabinet) and named Interior Minister. She is the second woman
and first Jewish person to reach Switzerland's highest
political level.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernment Investigation of Alleged Violations of
Human Rights
Human rights advocacy groups in Switzerland concern themselves
almost exclusively with lobbying the Swiss and other
governments about the human rights situation in other countries.
Switzerland cooperates with international bodies and
nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) in all areas of human
rights. All major international human rights groups are active
in Switzerland, and some of the leading ones, e.g., the United
Nations Human Rights Commission and the International Committee
of the Red Cross (ICRC), are based there. The ICRC is made up
of Swiss nationals, and Swiss play prominent roles in other
humanitarian nongovernmental organizations.
Sections 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Language, or Social Status
Women
Although the Constitution prohibits discrimination against
women in the work place, the Federal Government concluded in
1992 that additional measures, including better implementation
of existing legislation, were necessary to ensure equal pay and
other benefits for women. The Federal Minister of Justice
proposed new legislation in February 1993 to implement more
effectively constitutional prohibitions on discrimination
against women. For example, this legislation would reverse the
burden of proof from the complainant to the accused in
workplace discrimination cases. The legislation is opposed,
however, by some business interests and has not yet been
considered by a parliamentary committee. It is not likely to
be enacted soon. Several cases brought by women seeking equal
pay with men under existing law were decided for the
complainants by cantonal and federal courts in 1993. The
Federal Commission for Women's Rights and several private
groups, e.g., the Federation of Women's Organizations, monitor
and promote women's rights. They have found that persistent
discrimination has more social than legal causes.
Nevertheless, a significant number of women in recent years
have broken barriers in traditional male-dominated professions,
such as medicine, law, and engineering, and the proportion of
women to men in these professions has increased markedly over
the last two decades.
Women gained equality within the state pension program as a
result of parliamentary legislation in June 1992. Married
women are thereby entitled in their own right to half the
benefits the couple receives and have the right to pay for a
widower's benefit and make up any missed contributions for
their husbands, as men can for their wives. In addition,
divorced women are entitled to half the pension rights of a
couple, calculated on the highest earnings in the marriage.
Different treatment between men and women is most pronounced in
the salaries and wages paid. Despite the statutory requirement
of equal pay for equivalent work, women's wages for identical
work lag an average of 16 percent behind those of men. The
Government said in 1992 that it planned amendments to the law
on sexual equality which would bar discrimination in
employment, improve protection against dismissals, reverse the
burden of proof in discrimination cases, and facilitate law
suits by individual women against discriminatory employers, but
no action was taken in 1993.
The only female member of the Federal Council, who is also the
Interior Minister, citing the paucity of women in high
positions in the labor force, stated that an important goal
will be to determine how to get more women into positions of
responsibility.
There is widespread agreement that violence against women is a
significant problem. The Federation of Women's Organizations
and other women's advocacy groups have heightened public
consciousness. Each city has an emergency telephone number
through which women who are victims of violence can obtain help
and counseling, and special homes for abused women.
Specialists work with police authorities to interview women who
report attacks. Laws exist against wife beating and similar
crimes. At year's end, it was not yet clear what effect these
laws and an October 1992 change in the Penal Code, explicitly
making spousal rape a criminal offense, would have on deterring
violence against women. While the Penal Code is established at
the federal level, enforcement is the responsibility of the
cantons and variations occur.
Children
Legislation on assistance for victims of violent crimes, which
entered into force on January 1, 1993, addresses the protection
of children from such abuses. The Swiss Association for the
Protection of Children, an NGO, is active in monitoring and
advocating childrens' rights. It advocates legislation to
create and strengthen the rights of the children of foreigners,
including seasonal workers.
Regarding statutory rape, the Federal Council (Cabinet)
proposed lowering the age of consent from 16 to 14, but this
was rejected by Parliament. Instead, Parliament approved new
legislation, which took effect in January 1993, requiring that
a person accused of statutory rape must be at least 16 and more
than 3 years older than the accuser.
National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities
Citizens comprising Italian and Romansch linguistic minorities
(respectively about 5 and 1 percent of the population)
continued to express concern that the limited resources made
available to them by the Federal Government to support
education and media endanger the intellectual vitality of these
languages. In October 1992, the Federal Government withdrew
legislation which would have made Romansch an official
language. Citing the significant administrative costs of
implementing such a measure, the Government held that
preservation of language was basically a matter for individual
cantons to address.
Foreigners comprise about 18 percent of the population and 27
percent of the total work force. Residence permits are limited
for foreigners; for example, foreign workers with seasonal stay
permits are not allowed to bring their families. These
limitations apply to all non-Swiss. Parliament approved the
country's first federal legislation against racial
discrimination, based on the 1965 U.N. Convention on the
Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination, in June. It
would penalize race-motivated discrimination and hate speech.
Previously, the cantonal governments had exclusive authority to
handle racial discrimination cases. Rightwing groups began to
collect signatures to bring the antiracism legislation to a
national vote. There is no discrimination on religious
grounds, but taxation privileges accorded to churches and
religious groups vary according to cantonal practice.
Although authorities suspect that arson caused the deaths of
five asylum-seekers in 1992, they never issued a definitive
conclusion about the fires, and no arrests were made. A Swiss
man was sentenced to 5 years' imprisonment in 1993 for a 1991
arson attack on an asylum residence in Thun in which there were
no fatalities. Right-wing organizations, especially extremist
organizations, represent only a small minority. There were
sporadic violent attacks against foreigners or their property
in 1993, including 3 firebombings. Although preliminary
official figures show a significant decrease in attacks since
1991, statistics are not comprehensive, because some incidents
are not reported or are ignored by police authorities. A 1993
report by state protection forces, commissioned by the Federal
Council, concluded that past investigations were almost
exclusively directed against leftwing organizations, ignoring
any danger from the right. There is also evidence that some
police may actually sympathize with rightwing groups. A Swiss
journalist who wrote sympathetically about foreigners and
documented attacks against them claimed to have been beaten and
subjected to numerous threats of violence prior to relocating
in another city.
People with Disabilities
An umbrella organization representing most disabled persons'
rights associations is active politically. It is particularly
involved in issues concerning the transport and mobility of
disabled persons. It advocates the revision of federal
legislation on insurance for the disabled, urging better social
integration and professional training for them. The
organization also favors a federal antidiscrimination law. The
Federal Government has advocated physical accessibility to
public buildings for the disabled, but no legislation has been
enacted.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
All workers, including foreign workers in Switzerland, have
freedom to associate freely, to join unions of their choice,
and to select their own representatives. However, less than 15
percent of the country's labor force belongs to a union. The
change from an industrial to a service-based economy, the high
standard of living shared by a prosperous work force, and the
Swiss system of referendums and initiatives (which accords
citizens a voice on important political, social, and economic
issues) are among the reasons for the lack of interest in union
membership. Officials estimate that about 50 percent of all
Swiss workers are covered by collective agreements. Unions are
free to publicize their views and determine their own policies
to represent members' interests without government
interference. Unions may join federations or affiliate with
international bodies. The Swiss Trade Union Federation belongs
to the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions and the
World Confederation of Labor, as well as to the European Trade
Union Confederation.
The right to strike is legally recognized, but a unique
informal labor peace agreement between unions and employers, in
existence since the 1930's, has meant fewer than 20 strikes per
year since 1975. There were no significant strikes in 1993.
Federal employees and most cantonal and local employees do not
have the right to strike. The only exception is the Canton of
Jura, where both local and cantonal authorities have this right.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Swiss law gives workers the right to organize and bargain
collectively and protects them from acts of antiunion
discrimination. Employers found guilty of such discrimination
are not required to reinstate workers fired for union
activities but must pay an indemnity to the workers. The
Government encourages voluntary negotiations between employer
and worker organizations, although for the most part employers
and workers alike (in common with most Swiss institutions) seek
to exclude the Government from involvement in their affairs.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
There is no forced or compulsory labor, although there is no
specific statute or constitutional ban on it.
d. Minimum Wage for Employment of Children
The minimum age for employment of children is 15 years.
Children over 13 may be employed in light duties (e.g., helping
in retail stores) for not more than 9 hours a week during the
school year and 15 hours otherwise. Employment between ages 15
and 20 is strictly regulated. For example, youths may not work
at night, on Sundays, or under hazardous or dangerous
conditions. These laws are observed in practice and enforced
through inspections by the Federal Office of Industry, Trades,
and Labor.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
There is no national minimum wage. Employer associations and
unions negotiate industrial wages during the collective
bargaining process. Such wage agreements are also widely
observed by nonunion establishments. The Labor Act established
a maximum 45-hour workweek for blue- and white-collar workers
in industry, services, and retail trades, and a 50-hour
workweek for all other workers. The workweek for blue-collar
workers in most industries is 43 hours and for white-collar
workers 40 to 43 hours. Overtime is limited by law to 120
hours annually. The 1948 Labor Law bans night and Sunday work
for women in industry. The economy was until recently at or
near full employment. The resulting take-home pay provides
Swiss workers and their families with a very high standard of
living.
The Labor Act and the Federal Code of Obligations contain
extensive regulations to protect worker health and safety. The
regulations are rigorously enforced by the Federal Office of
Industry, Trades, and Labor, providing a high standard of
worker health and safety. No explicit provision in Swiss law
accords an employee the right to leave his place or work
without prejudice in case of occupational hazard. Some have
sought justification for such a right in more general
principles of Swiss law, but this interpretation remains
subject to considerable criticism and controversy. Swiss
employees have the right to file a complaint with an
appropriate governmental regulatory body against employers who
fail to adhere to regulations on employee safety. The
Government in 1993 continued to work on a complete revision of
the Labor Law dating from 1948.
There were no allegations of workers rights abuses from
domestic or foreign sources.
[end of document]
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