Three quarters of the 10 million refugees in the world live in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East – often in developing countries that simply do not have sufficient capacity to absorb a large number of refugees and to provide them with effective protection. Many refugees and other persons requiring protection are therefore forced to move on, often along dangerous routes, to other countries and regions.
Against this backdrop, Switzerland has decided to launch specific programmes to strengthen the protection of refugees in their region of origin (‘Protection in the Region’).
Swiss activities in the framework of ‘Protection in the Region’ are designed to ensure that refugees receive effective protection as soon as possible in their region of origin and that first host countries are supported in providing the necessary protection for the persons concerned. This should contribute to reduced irregular secondary movements and thus lead to a reduction in asylum applications in Switzerland.
To achieve these goals, measures are planned to support national authorities and civil society actors in their efforts to establish fair and efficient asylum procedures and to improve the living conditions of refugees.
Measures are also planned to achieve sustainable solutions. They include the facilitation of voluntary return to the home country, provided that this can be done in safety and dignity, the promotion of permanent local integration and the resettlement of refugees in third states.
The development and implementation of the Swiss ’Protection in the Region’ programme is based on interdepartmental coordination and cooperation (‘whole of government approach’). The main actors concerned are the Federal Office for Migration, the Directorate of Political Affairs’ Human Security Division and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.
‘Protection in the Region’ programmes are being implemented in Yemen, which is an important destination and transit country for refugees and for migratory flows from the Horn of Africa, the Horn of Africa and Syria.
