Switzerland acknowledged on Thursday its dark past, including forced relocation of children from minorities, such as Sinti and Jenisch people. The government stated that it had a role in, for example, the forced relocation of 2,000 children from the two ethnic groups, and added that the scope of the relocations is to be considered as "crimes against humanity".
"The government reiterates the apology made in 2013 to those who were subjected to injustices", the government wrote in a statement.
Switzerland estimates that over 100,000 people, both children and adults, from the two minorities were subjected to forced social measures and foster care placements until 1981.
A leading actor in the crimes was the actions taken by a relief organization focused on "children of the road" and run by the charity organization Pro Juventute.
The two affected groups were Sinti, a Romani people, and Jenisch people with mainly Indo-European origins. Both groups have been subjected to oppression, persecution, and genocide in Europe and were among the worst affected in the Holocaust in Nazi Germany.
