The Index update links to a new UNHCR mapping study on statelessness in Switzerland, and now contains analysis of Swiss provisions for the withdrawal of nationality, as well as updated population data, but there has been little concrete change in 2018 and important gaps in law, policy and practice remain.
Last year, the Index highlighted some positives in Switzerland including on birth registration, safeguards against arbitrary detention, the existence of an administrative procedure to determine statelessness, and some partial safeguards to prevent childhood statelessness. Positively, new information added this year shows that Swiss law relating to the withdrawal of nationality is assessed positively against international standards.
However, the Index also pointed out key gaps, where there has been little progress. Despite a Government commitment during the UPR process to improve protection for stateless people in the country, the determination procedure is still not set in law nor fully in line with good practice. Protection granted is limited and the definition of a stateless person currently applied is not in line with the 1954 Convention. Switzerland has not yet acceded to the 1961 Convention nor the European Convention on Nationality, and nationality laws still do not prevent childhood statelessness in all cases.
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