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«Increase of the number of contingent refugees from Syria as well as relaxation of the entry regulations»

Postulat 2014/186
Level: Municipality
Municipality: Zürich (ZH)
Status: Pending

Attendance

27.08.2014: Referral; pending with City Council since then.

02.07.2014: Declaration of urgency made.
The declaration of urgency is supported by 77 Council members, which means that the quorum of 63 votes pursuant to Art. 88 para. 2 GeschO GR is reached.

25.06.2014: Declaration of urgency and rejection proposed
Roland Scheck (SVP) moves rejection on behalf of the SVP Group. The business is thus postponed.

18.06.2014: Acceptance by City Council

11.06.2014: Receipt

The City Council is asked to consider how it can lobby the federal government through appropriate bodies (for example, association of cities, direct talks, etc) to significantly increase the number of quota refugees from Syria and relax the entry requirements for people from Syria.

Justification:

For years, a brutal civil war has been raging in Syria, in which cruel human rights violations are being committed. Millions of people are on the run and live in overcrowded refugee camps, sometimes under precarious conditions. Syria’s neighboring countries are suffering from the enormous number of refugees they have to accommodate. Lebanon, for example, (population of about 4.5 million) is home to more than 800,000 Syrian refugees. The UN then launched the largest appeal for donations for a single crisis in its history in January 2014 to relieve the burden on neighboring countries. Switzerland has announced that it will take in 500 quota refugees. Furthermore, in the fall of 2013, Switzerland eased visa entry requirements for Syrians with relatives in Switzerland for a short period of time, but had already lifted or tightened them again by the end of 2013.

In view of the continuing dramatic situation in Syria and the almost unmanageable flow of refugees to Syria’s neighboring countries, the global community is called upon to provide appropriate protection for the fleeing people. Thus, many countries in Europe have also issued generous refugee quotas or even increased them.

As a humanitarian country, Switzerland should also make a significant contribution to granting people in need of protection an opportunity to escape. For this reason, the city council should lobby for a significant increase in the number of quotas (aid organizations such as Caritas speak of 5,000) and easier entry regulations through united bodies (association of cities, direct interventions, etc.).

Zurich City Council