Ngos Decry Swiss Inaction Over Chinese Repression

(MENAFN- Swissinfo) Last year, the federal government acknowledged for the first time the repression targeting Swiss-based Tibetan and Uyghur communities, who are victims of the Chinese authorities' long arm. Today, NGOs are denouncing the lack of concrete measures to protect the victims. Select your language

Generated with artificial intelligence. Listening: NGOs decry Swiss inaction over Chinese repression This content was published on May 2, 2026 - 10:00 8 minutes

Based in Geneva, I cover the work of the United Nations and other international organisations there. My focus is on humanitarian aid, human rights, and peace diplomacy. I studied business and economics at the University of Lausanne before training as a journalist and joining SWI swissinfo in 2021.

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“We are very disappointed that nothing has actually changed,” says Selina Morell, China programme manager at Voices, a Bern-based NGO.

Just over a year ago, the Swiss government's executive body, the Federal Council, acknowledged for the first time the surveillance and pressure exerted by the Chinese government on Tibetan and Uyghur communities in Switzerland, victims of“transnational repression”. This intimidation takes various forms – physical and virtual, direct and indirect, such as targeting relatives – but the invariable aim is to silence dissenting voices abroad.

“After the report was published, we assumed the Swiss government would take action to protect the victims of transnational repression. Yet this has not happened,” says Morell.

There are no figures to precisely quantify the repression taking place on Swiss soil, but observers say the trend is on the rise. The NGO Freedom HouseExternal link has documented 1,375 cases worldwide since 2014, but these only include the most serious“physical” incidents: abductions, arbitrary detention, assaults or illegal expulsions. So acts of surveillance and intimidation remain outside the statistics.

One year later

In its reportExternal link published in February 2025, the Swiss government outlined several measures aimed at tackling the problem. These included bilateral dialogue with Beijing, awareness-raising among those likely to encounter the phenomenon, exchanges with the diaspora, and the setting up of a counselling service for victims. However, no timetable was set.

When contacted, the justice ministry stated that“work on national measures [...] has begun”, notably with the establishment of a strategic support group. Active since February, this group is tasked with producing, by the end of the year,“a comprehensive overview of competencies in the field of transnational repression at municipal, cantonal and national levels”.

Next year, the group will focus on“examining channels of communication with the relevant diasporas, as well as on awareness-raising and prevention”, the justice ministry explained. The establishment of a counselling service for those affected and witnesses will also be“examined”.

Morell welcomes the creation of this group, which is led by Swiss Security Network delegate Martin von Muralt, but she regrets the slowness of the process in the face of a situation which, she believes, requires concrete measures in the short term.

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