The Federal Councillor Beat Jans, head of the Swiss Federal Department of Justice and Police, delivered the closing speech at the Refugee Session held in Bern’s City Hall.
The Federal Councillor outlined recent progress in Swiss asylum policy, including:
Maintaining family reunification rights for temporarily admitted persons.
Faster asylum procedures, fewer pending cases, and improved conditions in federal centres.
Enhanced medical, psychological, and legal support for asylum seekers.
The reactivation and extension of Switzerland’s resettlement programme until 2027, with plans to admit up to 400 vulnerable refugees per year from conflict regions such as the Middle East and the Central Mediterranean.
Beat Jans also voiced strong support for the EU Pact on Migration and Asylum, calling it a step toward solidarity-based European migration management, and argued that Switzerland should remain engaged in shaping European asylum standards.
Concluding, Jans stressed that refugees must have a voice in shaping migration policy, noting that although many lack voting rights, they are an integral part of Swiss society.