October 3, 2022
Cited article by Emma Farge, Reuters
HRRC is concerned over the findings in the UN Human Rights Council report on Switzerland. However, it is encouraging that the Swiss government is aware of the ongoing problems and is taking proactive steps to address the issues. Switzerland and other countries facing similar issues must take action to be inclusive and end systemic racism.
Article Summary
A report issued by the UN Human Rights Council found Switzerland to have a large problem with systemic racism against those of African descent. The UN working group stated that the country has been taking positive measures, but there are still concerns of the prevalence of racial discrimination. Switzerland's ambassador to the UN accepted the findings of the report, but noted that the experts seemed to use a limited number of examples to demonstrate the prevalence of wider issues.
While there have been more petitions to remove statues depicting slave owners in Switzerland, the issue of systemic racism remains. Several examples include an Alpine peak named after a scientific racism advocate, children's games with racial tones, and police brutality that has resulted in the deaths of several Black men. The Swiss ambassador stressed the urgency to address the issues, and provided several new methods in approaching the problem.