individuals escaping local wars in the neighborhood. For example, in 1444 Basel hosted thousands of individuals fleeing the Sundgau war. Later in the 16th century, Huguenots escaping France found shelter in the actual territory of Switzerland (Arlettaz and Arlettaz 1991; Parini 1997; Piguet 2019; Bertrand 2020).

During the 19th century, Switzerland emerged as an isle of peace for European refugees. The failure of many revolutions in Europe in 1848 led to over 12,000 Prussians, Austrians, Italians, Polish and Hungarians to seek refuge in Switzerland. This flow of refugees, in terms of share of total population, is comparable to the flux of refugees received at the peak of the 2015 crisis (Piguet 2019). The end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century are characterized by expansive policies leading to Numa Drow, a federal councilor, to state in 1888 that “Asylum law represents one of the most important federal law” (page 42, paragraph 2). During this period, the flow of refugees and applications for asylum were mainly administered at the cantonal level. The only federal acts with implications on immigration and refugees relate to the regulation of obtaining the Swiss citizenship (1876, 1903 laws on naturalization).

After the First World War, and until the end of the Second World War, Switzerland passed through a period of restrictive policies. Two decrees play a special role during this period: the 1921 decree on controlling foreigners and the 1933 decree on settlement of foreigners. The 1921 decree on controlling foreigners is the first federal act that imposes restrictions on immigration, and thus on refugees. The 1933 decree states that anyone staying or planning to work in Switzerland must obtain a stay and work permit from the cantonal official authorities, and that the person cannot live or work in any other canton except the one delivering the authorization.<sup>7</sup> These restrictive policies had a particular impact on refugees between the two World Wars. Even though Switzerland offered shelters to many Jews, Roma, and Sinti threatened by Nazi Germany between 1933 and 1945.<sup>8</sup> Switzerland positioned itself during this period as a country of shelter only for a temporary stay, a country that refugees should leave as soon as possible.

The restrictive policies adopted during the Second World War are followed by more open policies. After the end of the conflict, Switzerland offers shelter to refugees from Hungary, the Czech Republic, and other people fleeing the eastern communist bloc. The large number of refugees after the Second World War across Europe leads to the creation of the International Organization of Refugees in 1946, which finds itself short of resources in the face of post war Europe. Thus, in 1949 the United Nations creates the High Commissariat of Refugees. Switzerland led the international effort to set out the rights of individuals who are granted asylum and the responsibilities of the host nations, which led to the adoption of the 1951 Refugee Convention (Convention de Genève de 1951). The Convention was initially adopted by 26 countries. Switzerland continued to shelter refugees from Eastern Europe fleeing the communist block until the nineties (Parini and Gianni 2005; Bertrand 2020).

What follows is a period characterized by even more expansive policies. Over time, the diversity of refugees in terms of country of origin, as well as the complexity of reasons for seeking asylum, significantly increased. In 1979 the first federal law on asylum was voted. Even so, the constant increase in the number of refugees in the nineties revived some older discussion on limiting immigration in Switzerland (previous initiatives against foreign overpopulation were submitted in 1965, 1969, 1972, 1974, 1977, 1985 and 1995). The number of individuals seeking asylum rose between 1985 and 1990 from 10,000 to over 42,000,<sup>9</sup> and peaked at over 100,000 in 1999, following the war in Kosovo.<sup>10</sup> These debates result in some more restrictions on asylum seekers and the adoption of a new federal law on

> 7. Loi fédérale du 26 mars 1931 sur le séjour et l’établissement des étrangers. (Documents consulted on April 17, 2021 at https://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/natlex4.detail?p_lang=fr&p_isn=38804&p_classification=17).

> 8. The Final Report of the Independent Commission of Experts on the role of Switzerland during the Second World War documents 55 018 refugees in Switzerland in 1945 beside army refugees.

> 9. Office Fédéral de la Statistique, 2015, La Suisse: Terre d’immigration, société multiculturelle. Eléments pour une politique de migration.

> 10. Office Fédéral de la Statistique: https://www.sem.admin.ch/sem/fr/home/publiservice/statistik/asylstatistik/ archiv/1999/12.html [Data accessed on May 1, 2021].

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