The Swiss Customs Museum to reopen for the new season with an exhibition on migration and a revamped exhibition on CITES species

Bern, 28.03.2024 - On Easter Sunday, 31 March 2024, the Swiss Customs Museum will reopen its doors to the public. This season sees two new highlights. The first is an exhibition "Migration – a photo exhibition by Darrin Zammit Lupi". This travelling exhibition by the Reuters photojournalist offers a unique insight into the long journeys made by migrants. The second new feature is the revamped exhibition on species protected by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora.

In keeping with tradition, the Swiss Customs Museum is reopening to the public after its winter closure. The Museum, located on the shores of Lake Lugano in Cantine di Gandria, this year presents a photo exhibition on the theme of migration entitled "Migration - a photo exhibition by Darrin Zammit Lupi". The exhibition is part of the 30th anniversary celebrations of the Swiss branch of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the leading intergovernmental organisation in the field of migration. Combating irregular migration in Switzerland falls within the remit of the Federal Office for Customs and Border Security (FOCBS). In 2023, the FOCBS detected a total of more than fifty thousand cases of illegal residence. Most of the illegal migrants were from Afghanistan, Morocco and Turkey.

Exhibition on migration

Darrin Zammit Lupi is a photojournalist who, in the course of his career, has documented numerous national and international migration projects for the Times of Malta and The Malta Independent newspapers. He has also travelled extensively around the world as a freelance correspondent for Reuters. Over the past 30 years, he has documented the wars in Bosnia and Kosovo, the tsunami in Southeast Asia, the conflict in Libya as well as other topics related to the Millennium Development Goals in different parts of Africa. Voluntary return and reintegration support is IOM Switzerland's main field of activity. This assistance includes various activities to support the voluntary return of asylum seekers, provisionally admitted persons and recognised refugees.

Revamped exhibition on CITES-protected species

The Swiss Customs Museum also features a revamped exhibition on species protected by CITES, the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora. Signed in Washington on 3 March 1973, CITES has been signed by 184 countries that have committed themselves to protecting over 5,000 animal and 28,000 plant species from overexploitation. Endangered animal and plant species can only be traded in sustainable quantities. The FOCBS monitors the import, export and transit of protected animals and plants, as well as their parts or products, according to CITES, both in commercial consignments and in tourist traffic.

Address for enquiries

For media representatives:
Media Service Federal Office of Customs and Border Security FOCBS
Tel. +41 58 462 67 43, medien@bazg.admin.ch