Radicalisation of minors in Switzerland: Berne unveils charter and new action plan
The number of minors becoming radicalised in Switzerland has increased sharply since 2023. The federal government, cantons and municipalities have signed a joint charter against violent extremism.
Charter against violent extremism: federal government, cantons and municipalities unite in Berne
The phenomenon is considered alarming. According to Le Temps, since 2023 — and particularly since the Hamas attacks of 7 October — the number of minors becoming radicalised has increased sharply in Switzerland. On Friday morning, a charter against radicalisation was presented in Berne, drawn up under the aegis of the National Security Network (RNS), alongside a new national action plan.
Violent extremism is taking unprecedented forms. "Active Clubs" combine combat sports with white nationalism. Other movements are emerging: incel misogyny, where hatred of women transforms into ideology, and "violent nihilism", in which violence becomes an end in itself.
"Against this scourge that divides and threatens our society, we can only conduct this fight together," declared federal councillor Beat Jans, head of the Department of Justice and Police. The Basel socialist recalled several concrete cases illustrating the extent of the problem.
In Morges in 2020, an individual motivated by jihadist convictions killed a man at random. In Zurich in 2024, a 15-year-old adolescent stabbed an Orthodox Jewish man. However, radical Islamism is not the only source of concern for the authorities.
"In 2020, what the media described as the first incel attack in Switzerland occurred in Amriswil: a young man deliberately ran over two young women in his car," added Beat Jans. "He had become radicalised online in his hatred of women."
Faced with the multiplication and diversification of these phenomena, the federal government, cantons and municipalities intend to present a united front. The charter signed on Friday formalises this shared commitment and establishes the foundations of strengthened coordination between the different institutional levels to prevent radicalisation across the whole of Swiss territory.
Source: Le Temps