Three quarters of the 10 million refugees in the world live in Africa, Latin America, Asia and the Middle East – often in developing countries that simply do not have sufficient capacity to absorb a large number of refugees and to provide them with effective protection. Many refugees and other persons requiring protection are therefore forced to move on, often along dangerous routes, to other countries and regions.

In light of this background, Switzerland has decided to launch specific programmes to strengthen the protection of refugees in their region of origin (“Protection in the Region”).

Swiss activity in the framework of “Protection in the Region” is designed to ensure that refugees receive effective protection as soon as possible in their region of origin and that first host countries are supported to provide the necessary protection for the persons concerned. This should contribute to reduce irregular secondary movements and thus lead to a reduction of asylum applications in Switzerland.

To achieve these goals, measures are planned for instance to support national authorities and civil society actors in their efforts to establish fair and efficient asylum procedures and to improve the living conditions of refugees.

Measures are also planned to achieve sustainable solutions. They include the facilitation of voluntary return to the home country, provided that this can be done in safety and dignity, the promotion of permanent local integration and the resettlement of refugees in third states.

The elaboration and implementation of the Swiss “Protection in the Region” programme is based on interdepartmental coordination and cooperation (“whole of government approach”). The main actors concerned are the Federal Office for Migration, Political Affairs Division IV and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation.

The implementation of “Protection in the Region” has already started in two countries. The first is Yemen, which is an important destination and transit country for refugees and for migratory flows from the Horn of Africa. The second country is Syria, where the programme benefits refugees coming from Iraq.