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Focussing on Switzerland’s role in the slave tradeIt is true that Switzerland never had colonies; that does not mean that the African slave trade, one of the most atrocious crimes against humanity, did not affect her. The slave trade was as profitable for Swiss individuals as it was for other Europeans.
 Individual Swiss citizens realised huge economic profits from the transatlantic trade; they produced calico cloth and exchanged it for slaves in Africa; they traded colonial goods; overseas, they owned plantations that were tended by slaves. Some Swiss became mercenaries abroad; others fled from poverty and hunger in Switzerland and went looking for a better life in the New World. These facts clearly show the closely-woven and encompassing net and the global dimension of the slave trade from the 16th to the 19th century.
 Today, people from the South are trying their luck in the North, just like the Swiss who emigrated to the New World in the 18th and 19th centuries wanted to escape poverty. Instead of holding debates about the definition of an immigration country, cooperaxion wants to invite people in Switzerland to take responsibility in the South. We consider it much more important to fight the causes of the migration from Africa to Europe than to fight its symptoms. This is not a task that a country can take on single-handedly, it needs the commitment of all European countries. However, Switzerland can set an example and make a meaningful contribution.
 1. Raising awareness
The transatlantic slave trade, its history in general and especially the involvement of Swiss individuals shall be brought to the general public’s mind. From Switzerland’s point of view we want to shed light on those responsible for the slave trade as well as the victims. For this we’re planning a dialogue with the Swiss population.
2. Knowledge Transfer
Finding experts on singular occasions when local resources have been exhausted as well as networking across the boarders are important means to promote understanding between different peoples.
3. Intercultural Exchange
We want to support the organisation and promotion of public events, such as exhibitions, seminars and projects in music, film and literature, especially in light of our overall strategy. Music from Africa, South America and the Caribbean can create an access route especially with the young people.
How Switzerland deals with the transatlantic slave trade – reappraisal instead of compensation
At the 3rd World Conference against Racism in 2001 in Durban, South Africa, not only the present-day forms of racism were discussed, but also reappraising the colonial past. When African states then demanded compensation from those countries who had profited from the slave trade, the Swiss delegate for Human Rights with the UN, Jean-Daniel Vigny, claimed that this request would pose no problem for Switzerland, since she had not been involved in slavery, slave trade nor colonialism. In 2002 the Federal Commission against Racism claimed, at a national conference in Berne, that Switzerland had not been a colonial power and had also not been involved in slavery in Africa.
In the scope of St. Gallen’s bicentennial affiliation with the Swiss confederation, the Swiss author Hans Fässler presented a play that showed the participation of a Swiss mercenary in the suppression of the 1803 slave uprising in Haiti. During his preparations, Fässler found that Switzerland had numerous connections to the slave trade, which again pushed him to bring this issue to the political level. Following his suggestion left-wing members of parliament from various Cantons submitted written questions in February and March 2003 about Switzerland’s and Swiss citizens’ role in the transatlantic slave trade. On the national level, National Councillor Pia Hollenstein (Green Party) submitted the interpellation ‘Swiss involved in slavery and the transatlantic slave trade’.
While the replies to the motions acknowledge the Swiss involvement in slavery of black people, they also make a distinction between the government and the actions of single individuals. Cantonal governments have made it clear that neither Switzerland’s government nor parliament – both on cantonal and federal level – carry guilt. The Cantons would welcome historic studies, but the initiative would have to come from researchers. The Canton of Geneva was the only one prepared to fund such research. Many Cantons said that such research would have to be conducted on the supra-cantonal level, since a few individual Swiss citizens were involved. They thus put the responsibility with the Confederation.
In their answer to Hollenstein’s interpellation, the Federal Council stated that Switzerland never was a colonial power, and therefore differed from these on the level of responsible governmental actions. Nevertheless, they acknowledged that several Swiss citizens had – to a greater or lesser extent – been involved in the transatlantic slave trade, a fact the Federal Council today regrets profoundly. That situation was a common known fact and had been mentioned in several documents already, as also stated in the interpellation itself. Many states had been involved in slavery and the slave trade. In conclusion, the Federal Council thought that the various aspects of slavery and slave trade needed to be dealt with on the international level and in close cooperation with the civil society […]. Finally, the Federal Council pointed out that, while they were prepared to support the necessary political reappraisal of the past, they drew a line with regards to the responsibilities’ of today’s generation for their ancestors’ actions, since it had vanished due to the length of time.
In 2004, the United Nations held the International Year to commemorate the Struggle against Slavery and its Abolition. In 2006, the National Councillor Joseph Lang (Green Party) picked up the subject of Switzerland and slave trade again and moved to clarify what Switzerland had done to realise the action programme agreed upon in Durban. The Federal Council replied on 2 May 2007 and reminded, first of all, that with the adhesion to many relevant international treaties, Switzerland had clearly and decisively condemned any form of slavery. On 28 July 1964, Switzerland ratified the United Nations 1956 Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery, and is also signatory state of all respective ILO conventions and UN Human Rights Conventions. Also, through the approval of the Resolution Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade, as well as through her role in the declaration and action programme of the World Conference on Racism in Durban, the Federal Council admitted that Switzerland recognised slavery as one of the worst offences against Human Rights, and that the injustice created during colonialism needed to critically be assessed. However, this assessment was, according to the Federal Council’s report on Switzerland’s International Human Rights Policy 2003 – 2007, not a priority. That was why Switzerland had not seen reason to elaborate measures accompanying the International Day for the Commemoration of the 200th Anniversary of the Abolition of the Trans-Atlantic Slave Trade on 25 March 2007.
The Federal Council acknowledged the wish for including the history of slavery and slave trade and the consequences into Swiss education. They pointed out that the Cantons were responsible for education, schooling and especially for the adaptation of curricula. Further, they said that the Swiss Confederation funded the Foundation for Education and Development which elaborates educational materials on this topic and puts it at the disposal of the various Cantons.
Sources:
A detailed list of all the parliamentary motions, together with the complete replies of the governments, both cantons and federal, can be found on Hans Fässler’s website (in german) http://www.louverture.ch
The declaration and action programme of the 2001 World Conference against Racism in Durban can be found (in german) under http://www.unhchr.ch/huridocda/huridoca.nsf/(Symbol)/A.Conf.189.12.En?Opendocument
Hans Fässler, Reise in Schwarz-Weiss, Schweizer Ortstermine in Sachen Sklaverei, Zürich 2005 (German and french only)
Thomas David/Bouda Etemad/Janick Marina Schaufelbühl, Schwarze Geschäfte, Die Beteiligung von Schweizern an Sklaverei und Sklavenhandel im 18. und 19. Jahrhundert, Zürich 2005 (German and french only)
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