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Swiss living abroad to pay for costs if taken hostage: new legislation

Xinhua, October 8, 2015 Adjust font size:

The Swiss Abroad Act together with its two ordinances, Swiss Abroad Ordinance and Ordinance on Fees of the Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, will come into effect on Nov. 1, the Swiss Federal Council announced on Wednesday.

Adopted by the Federal Assembly in September 2014, the Act aims to unite the main provisions regarding Swiss living abroad under one legal document.

It takes into account the political rights of Swiss citizens living abroad, as well as social assistance, consular protection and other consular services to ensure a "holistic and coherent" policy towards Swiss nationals who live outside of Switzerland.

One of the clauses outlined in the new legislation stipulates that Swiss nationals who find themselves in hostage situations through their own negligence will have to cover the costs incurred by the government to come to their aid.

The Federal Council also indicated that measures may be taken to encourage Swiss citizens to exercise their political rights abroad, while also providing for the option to use electronic voting for federal referenda and elections.

"The Swiss Abroad Act does not introduce any fundamentally new rights or obligations, but brings together in a single piece of legislation the most important provisions governing the over 756,000 Swiss citizens living abroad," the Federal Council said in a statement. Endit