Switzerland calls for the protection of the Refugee Convention
Keystone-SDA
Switzerland has called on the United Nations in Geneva to uphold the 1951 Refugee Convention, which marked its 75th anniversary on Tuesday.
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“We must all feel a sense of duty to uphold the right to asylum and protect this convention,” said Vincenzo Mascioli, State Secretary for Migration, in a speech at the UN in Geneva, the very place where the convention was originally adopted. Although the agreement was hard-won after the Second World War, “we must continually embed it in our societies”.
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In the State Secretary’s view, there needs to be an even greater focus on those in need of protection and efforts to reduce the number of unfounded asylum applications. In a message, UN Secretary-General António Guterres paid tribute to the Convention, which has saved millions of lives.
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Translated from German, reviewed by an English Department journalist.
