Delegate for Refugees
The Delegate for Refugees was the director of the Office of the Delegate for Refugees (DFW) in the Federal Department of Justice and Police (FDJP) in Switzerland .
history
The position of a delegate of the Federal Council for the refugee system was created at the end of 1985 on the initiative of Federal Councilor Elisabeth Kopp . In doing so, the Federal Council wanted to provide institutional support for the solution to the permanent problem of the refugee situation.
The Federal Office for Refugees (BFF) emerged from the Office of the Delegate for Refugees as part of the asylum law revision of 1990. In 2005, the BFF was merged with the Federal Office for Immigration, Integration and Emigration (IMES) to create the Federal Office for Migration .
Trunk
The only delegate for the refugee system was the previous Winterthur city councilor Peter Arbenz ( FDP ), who was the first director of the Federal Office for Refugees from 1990 to 1993. As a refugee delegate, Arbenz also headed the interdepartmental strategy group “Asylum and Refugee Policy” set up by Federal Councilor Kopp in 1987, which developed long-term plans for the Federal Council. In 1997 Arbenz was awarded the “Prize for Humanity” of the “ Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism ” and the “Society of Minorities in Switzerland”, “in recognition of the fact that he fulfills all of his various, sometimes very difficult tasks in a humane manner and with human empathy Has. He has proven this in particular as a delegate of the Federal Council for refugees and on the occasion of his humanitarian missions in recent years (Bosnia / Herzegovina). With his actions he showed in an exemplary manner suggestions that even difficult tasks could be solved humanely and unbureaucratically ”, so the reason for the award at the time.
The Deputy Director of the Delegate for Refugees was Urs Hadorn , who in 1990 was appointed Deputy Director of the Federal Office for Refugees (BFF) and in 2004 was entrusted with the interim management of the BFF.
goals and tasks
A key objective of this coordination office was to increase the ability to react to unforeseen situations and problems that were not yet recognizable at the time. The delegate reported directly to the Federal Department of Justice and Police. He was assigned the tasks and responsibilities that previously fell within the competence of the Federal Police Office according to the Asylum Act , so u. a. the decision on the recognition of refugees. The delegate also advised the department on refugee issues and coordinated the tasks of the federal government with those of the cantons and refugee aid agencies. He was responsible for working together on an international level and representing the department at foreign and international bodies, in particular at the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
literature
- Elisabeth Kopp : Switzerland in the global refugee problem. In: Urs Gfeller (ed.): Time of refugees. Edition M, Zurich 1987, pp. 109–124.
Web links
Individual evidence
- ↑ Fischhof Prize. Foundation against Racism and Anti-Semitism (GRA), accessed on August 13, 2010 .