Switzerland has ‘systemic’ racism issues, UN experts say

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By Emma Farge, Reuters

People sit down on a bridge during a Black Lives Matter protest in Zurich, Switzerland, June 13, 2020. (REUTERS/Michael Schields)

Switzerland has a serious systemic problem with racism against people of African descent, according to a report presented to the U.N. Human Rights Council on Monday, giving a broad range of examples from police brutality to a children’s game.

The U.N.-appointed working group noted positive measures taken by Switzerland but still voiced concerns about the prevalence of racial discrimination and highlighted several incidents following a visit to the country this year.

“The ubiquity and impunity of this misconduct indicates a serious systemic problem exists,” it said.

Switzerland’s ambassador to the U.N. in Geneva broadly accepted the findings in comments to the council, although questioned the experts’ use of a limited number of examples to draw wider conclusions.

Landlocked Switzerland was never a colonial power but its banks, traders and municipalities invested heavily and benefited from the transatlantic triangular trade, the report said.

Discover what else the report says.

Systemic racism is why Black Americans wonder if they are free at last.

Racism is a topic commonly covered in our breaking news.

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