Security measures on the rise due to global political conflicts

In 2025, a clear trend emerged towards additional and enhanced security measures for people protected under international law, primarily due to global geopolitical conflicts. The number of threats against senior judges remained stable, however.

Politics in Switzerland and around the world has been growing increasingly polarised and contentious for a number of years. Public concerns and fears are widely aired on social media, frequently in the form of simplistic debates. This charged climate repeatedly provokes emotional reactions, which all too often translate into threats against individuals under the federal government’s protection. The content of these threats is alarming, and the tone aggressive.

In 2025, fedpol recorded and assessed 645 threat reports directed at members of Parliament, government ministers and federal government employees. A concrete risk was identified in around 300 instances, prompting a detailed analysis; the resulting in-depth risk and threat assessments led, in some cases, to the imposition of appropriate security measures.

In 2025, the analysis revealed an elevated risk potential in 76 of these approximately 300 cases – around 12 per cent of the total 645 reports. The cases related not only to threats, but also to other potential criminal offences, including damage to property, anonymous defamatory communications and various forms of harassment, up to and including stalking.

If there is concrete suspicion of a possible criminal offence against a building or a person requiring protection, fedpol can take protective measures such as speaking directly to the suspect, issuing a formal written warning or initiating criminal proceedings. Where necessary, structural measures such as alarm systems or personal protection arrangements may also be put in place.

Note on the statistics: If an individual sends several reports on the same day, they are recorded as one report. However, fedpol assesses and analyses all reports separately. In criminal proceedings, even anonymous senders can be identified by analysing forensic evidence . This encompasses all forensically usable evidence that could be found on an object, document or digital medium (e.g. DNA, fingerprints, physical traces and digital footprints).

Since autumn 2022, members of Parliament have been able to submit reports via an app. This tool was developed by fedpol as a direct and rapid way of obtaining the information required to protect individuals under threat. fedpol carries out a detailed situation analysis for each report. An update to the app was launched in 2025, making it even more user-friendly.

Fluctuations in the figures for visitors protected under international law are due to the current political situation. In 2025, several conferences and meetings involving individuals protected under international law were held in Switzerland owing to international conflicts. This led to a rise in security measures. Overall, there is a clear trend towards a growing need for additional and enhanced security measures to protect individuals and property.

Protective measures are based on the individual risk assessment for each of these people. In other words, an individual classified as high risk may require more protective measures than a group classified as low risk.

The ongoing challenges posed by the global security situation and volatile political developments have had an impact on risk analyses. The number of assessments for visitors protected under international law rose slightly in 2025 compared to the previous year. This is presumably due to a slight increase in the number of conferences in 2025. The number of assessments required for diplomats and diplomatic missions has been rising steadily for several years.