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Swiss back tighter asylum rules | Swiss back tighter asylum rules |
(about 2 hours later) | |
Voters in Switzerland have backed tougher laws on asylum-seekers. | |
In a national referendum, some 67.8% of voters supported the new measures, which the government says are needed to combat abuse of the asylum system. | |
The new laws cut welfare payments to those whose applications are rejected, and restrict applications from those unable to produce identity documents. | |
The United Nations refugee agency, the UNHCR, described the referendum result as regrettable. | |
The vote gives Switzerland some of the strictest asylum and immigration laws in Europe. | |
Justice Minister Christoph Blocher says they will prevent abuse while protecting real refugees. | |
Ahead of the vote, he said the aim of the reforms was "to uphold Switzerland's humanitarian tradition while at the same time halting abuses". | |
'Small problem' | |
But the UNHCR has expressed concern about a requirement for asylum seekers to produce valid identity papers within 48 hours. Many genuine refugees have been deprived of their passports by the very persecutors they are fleeing, it says. | |
And Swiss church groups say they are determined to ensure that no-one ends up on the streets because of the cut in welfare payments to rejected asylum seekers. | |
The BBC's Imogen Foulkes, in Geneva, says the strong support for the laws is a reflection of a feeling among many Swiss that their traditionally generous treatment of refugees should not be abused. | |
But she adds that many refugee groups fear these measures are far too harsh an answer to a problem which is actually rather small. | |
About 10,000 people applied for asylum in Switzerland last year, a sharp drop from previous years. | |
The measures have already been passed by both parliament and the government, but opponents raised enough signatures to force a national vote. | |
The laws were supported by a majority of those voting in all of Switzerland's 26 cantons. |