Executive Summary

The National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) published its annual report on forced air repatriations in 2025 on July 7, 2026. The Commission identifies significant deficiencies in the treatment of persons with mental illnesses, particularly in assessing fitness for transport, the use of coercive measures, and medical care. During the reporting period, the NCPT observed 46 special flights as well as 11 additional forced repatriations, including 35 families with 77 children. The report is available in German; summaries in French and Italian are available.

Persons

  • National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) (Swiss Independent Body)

Topics

  • Forced repatriations
  • Mental illnesses
  • Human rights protection
  • Medical care
  • Children's rights

Clarus Lead

The report signals systematic vulnerability of vulnerable groups in deportation processes. The Commission demands concrete regulatory changes – particularly clear criteria for fitness for transport and a moratorium on repatriations of persons in psychiatric inpatient treatment – and documents ongoing human rights deficits despite positive individual developments. This compels authorities and enforcement agencies to reorient their practices in the migration and security sectors.

Detailed Summary

The NCPT identifies systematic gaps in assessing fitness for transport of persons with mental illnesses. Assessments are conducted primarily on a file basis; the underlying information is sometimes outdated or incomplete. The Commission recommends developing explicit criteria as well as renewed medical assessment when relevant changes in mental condition occur.

A central concern is the observation of repatriations of severely mentally ill persons directly from inpatient psychiatric treatment. The Commission views such measures as potential health risks and demands refraining from repatriations when persons cannot voluntarily control their behavior due to mental illness or are in inpatient treatment – unless appropriate follow-up care in the destination country is ensured.

Medical accompaniment shows significant deficiencies: medical care from the point of detention, medication provision, and continuity of treatment in the destination country are not consistently ensured. For severe mental illnesses or suicide risk, the Commission demands medical accompaniment from detention, medical handover in the destination country, and appropriate follow-up care.

Despite professional and respectful conduct by police accompanying officers, the NCPT documents ongoing human rights problems: preventive coercive measures, denial of telephone calls, lack of professional interpreters. For children, nocturnal family detentions, detentions without parents, physical searches, and coercive measures continued to be observed. Additionally, medical information exchange remains fragmented, and the confidentiality of medical examinations is not ensured.

Key Findings

  • The NCPT demands clear, standardized criteria for assessing fitness for transport of persons with mental illnesses and regular reassessments.
  • Forced repatriations of persons in inpatient psychiatric treatment should not take place if adequate medical follow-up care does not exist in the destination country.
  • Systematic deficiencies in medical care (medication, accompaniment, continuity) endanger the health of persons being repatriated and require structural reforms.
  • Human rights deficits (preventive coercive measures, lack of interpreters, child detentions) persist and require targeted measures.

Critical Questions

  1. Evidence Quality: On what data basis does the NCPT assess fitness for transport if the underlying information is sometimes outdated or incomplete? How is the validity of these assessments ensured?

  2. Conflicts of Interest: To what extent do enforcement interests (rapid repatriation) conflict with medical and humanitarian protection requirements, and how can these tensions be resolved institutionally?

  3. Causality: What concrete health risks arise from repatriations from psychiatric inpatient treatment? Are there documented cases of suicides or deterioration following repatriation?

  4. Feasibility: How can authorities ensure medical accompaniment from detention and appropriate follow-up care in the destination country if destination countries do not cooperate or lack corresponding structures?

  5. Monitoring: What control mechanisms exist to verify enforcement agencies' compliance with NCPT recommendations and to impose sanctions for violations?

  6. Children's Rights: How is the special nature of child detentions (nocturnal detentions, separation from parents) taken into account in repatriation decisions, and what legal standards apply?

Sources

Primary Source: Report of the National Commission for the Prevention of Torture (NCPT) on Forced Repatriations 2025 – news.admin.ch, 07.07.2026

Verification Status: ✓ 07.07.2026

This text was created with the assistance of an AI model. Editorial Responsibility: clarus.news | Fact-Check: 07.07.2026