Dhaka: Switzerland acknowledged Thursday that its past role in the forced placement of children from the itinerant Yenish and Sinti communities with other families amounted to a “crime against humanity”. The Swiss government estimated that around 2,000 children were involved in such placements.
According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the Swiss government declared that “the acts perpetrated within the framework of the ‘Aid Organisation for Children of the Road’ must be qualified as a ‘crime against humanity’ under current international law.” The government reaffirmed its apology made in 2013 to those affected by these injustices and indicated that the interior ministry would engage with the affected individuals to determine if further measures were necessary to address the past.
Switzerland reported that by 1981, over 100,000 children and adults had been coerced into welfare measures or placed in foster care against their will. The victims were often from disadvantaged backgrounds or had lifestyles that clashed with the social norms of the time. Among these victims were individuals from itinerant communities, such as the Yenish and the Sinti.
The “Aid Organisation for Children of the Road,” operated by the Pro Juventute charitable foundation, played a pivotal role in the child removals. From 1926 to 1973, the program forcibly removed around 600 Yenish children from their parents, placing them in homes, educational institutions, and foster families, with the aid of authorities, in violation of the principles of the rule of law. Sinti children were similarly affected.
In addition to the child removals, adults who had been placed in foster care as children faced severe restrictions. Many were placed under guardianship, housed in institutions, prohibited from marrying, and in some cases, forcibly sterilised. Outside of Pro Juventute, other religious charities and authorities were involved, prompting the government to estimate the number of placements at approximately 2,000.