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Switzerland

https://www.idea.int/democracytracker/

June 2024

Parliament votes against implementing ECHR’s climate ruling
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Parliament has urged no further action to implement the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR)’s April ruling which stated that Switzerland is violating the rights of senior women by failing to protect them from the negative consequences of climate change. The final decision on whether to comply with the decision is expected to be announced by the Federal Council in August, as the branch of government responsible for preparing an action plan to execute the ruling. A declaration, prepared by the Legal Affairs Committee and adopted by both parliamentary houses, criticizes the ECHR ruling for “inappropriate and unacceptable judicial activism,” which, according to the declaration, risks calling the Court’s legitimacy into question. The declaration concludes that there is no reason to take further action on the ECHR’s ruling, claiming it already has an effective climate strategy. The ECHR’s ruling is binding, and leaves it open to Swiss policymakers to remedy the inadequate protections. In response, the NGO that brought the case before the ECHR, KlimaSeniorinnen, launched a petition, collecting over 22,000 signatures to urge MPs to respect the ruling and protect the European Convention on Human Rights.

Sources: International IDEA, BBC, SWR, Swiss Parliament, KlimaSeniorinnen, SRF, EJIL Talk

April 2024

European court finds rights violations in landmark climate judgment

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled in favour of the association KlimaSeniorinnen, a group of older Swiss women who took action against Switzerland for failing to implement measures to stop climate change. On 9 April, the ECHR found that Switzerland has failed to protect senior women from the negative impacts of climate change, including for their health, in violation of the right to respect for private and family life (Article 8 of the European Convention of Human Rights). The judgment also ruled that Switzerland violated the rights of KlimaSeniorinnen to access a court and pointed to the failure of Swiss authorities to carry out a substantive examination of the alleged violations. The ECHR is the first international court to uphold a human rights-based claim to climate protection. The Court leaves it open to Swiss policymakers to remedy the inadequate protections.

Sources: The Guardian (1), The Guardian (2), ECHR (1), ECHR (2), SwissInfo, KlimaSeniorinnen

February 2024

European court upholds complaint of racial profiling by the police

The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has upheld the complaint by a Swiss citizen of racial profiling by police after he was stopped and searched in 2015 at Zurich train station, and fined CHF 100 for refusing to comply with the police. It is the first time the ECHR ruled in an ethnic profiling case that an identity check violated the right to private life (Article 8) and the right to non-discrimination (Article 14) protected in the European Convention on Human Rights. The ruling further found that the complainant’s right to an effective remedy (Article 13) was violated with regard to the complaint of discrimination based on race. In 2020, a domestic court found that the identity check had been unlawful but left open the question of whether discriminatory motives had factored into the identity check and did not provide recourse for appeal. Switzerland was ordered to pay CHF 22,821 to the complainant.

Sources: ECHR, Amnesty International (1), Amnesty International (2), Swiss Info, humanrights.ch

October 2023

Parliament shifts to the right following federal elections
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On 22 October, Switzerland held federal elections to elect all members of the National Council (the lower parliamentary house with a total of 200 seats) and the Council of States (the smaller, upper house with 46 seats). The right-wing Swiss People’s Party (SVP) won the greatest vote share in the lower house (27.9 per cent translating to 62 seats). This was followed by the Social Democratic party (SP) with 18.3 per cent of the vote and 41 seats. The Centre Party (Mitte) secured 29 seats with 14.1 per cent of the vote, and the Radical Liberal party (FDP) won 28 seats with 14.3 per cent. Women will make up 38.5 per cent (77) of the deputies in the National Council and 28.3 per cent (13) of Council of States representatives. Estimates show around 34 per cent of candidates for elections to the upper house are women. Voter turnout was 46.6 per cent of eligible voters.

Sources: ch.ch, SwissInfo (1), SwissInfo (2), OSCE, Federal Statistics Office, International IDEA

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Global ranking per category of democratic performance in 2023

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Representation
23/173
Rights
2/173
Rule of Law
3/173
Participation
2/173
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Basic Information

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Population Tooltip
8 697 720
System of government
Federal Republic
Head of government
President Viola Amherd (since 2024)
Head of government party
The Centre (DM/LC)
Electoral system for lower or single chamber
List Proportional Representation
Women in lower or single chamber
38.5%
Women in upper chamber
34.8%
Last legislative election
2023
Effective number of political parties Tooltip
6.47
Head of state
President Viola Amherd
Selection process for head of state
Indirect election (assembly)
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) date
27/01/2023
Latest Universal Periodic Review (UPR) percentage of recommendations supported
63.75%
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Human Rights Treaties

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State Party State party
Signatory Signatory
No Action No action
United Nations Human Right Treaties
International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights
State Party
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
State Party
International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination
State Party
Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women
State Party
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman and Degrading Treatment or Punishment
State Party
Convention on the Rights of the Child
State Party
International Convention on Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families
No Action
International Convention for the Protection of All Persons from Enforced Disappearance 
State Party
International Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
State Party
International Labour Organisation Treaties
Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention
State Party
Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention
State Party
Equal Remuneration Convention
State Party
Abolition of Forced Labour Convention
State Party
Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention
State Party
Convention concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment
State Party
Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention
State Party
Regional Treaties
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
Signatory
Protocol No. 4 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
No Action
Protocol No. 6 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 7 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
Protocol No. 12 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
No Action
Protocol No. 13 to the Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental Freedoms
State Party
in
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Performance by category over the last 6 months

Representation neutral Representation
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Representation neutral Rights
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Representation neutral Rule of law
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Representation neutral Participation
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Global State of Democracy Indices

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Explore the indices
Representation
Representation
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/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rights
Rights
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high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Rule of Law
Rule of Law
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high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4
Participation
Participation
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/1
high 0.7-1.0
mid 0.4-0.7
low 0.0-0.4

Factors of Democratic Performance Over Time

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