The Swiss chapter of Amnesty International is using humour and satire in a new hard-hitting campaign to combat policies that toughen conditions for asylum seekers in Switzerland.

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The NGO targets politicians from the right-wing populist Swiss People’s Party (SVP) while poking fun at what it regards as their heartless approach to people seeking refuge on humanitarian grounds.

In a video released as part of the campaign, SVP federal cabinet minister Ueli Maurer MP and party strongman Christoph Blocher are depicted as Somalian refugees sitting outside a shabby mobile home.

They are seated on either side of a pot where horns in a bubbling soup appear to be the remains of the SVP’s famous mascot, a goat named Zottel.

Maurer tells Blocher not to look so sullen.

“Me, I’m also hungry,” Blocher replies.

“But even so, we are not going to eat our mascot!”

SVP politicians are being singled out for their support of laws that make life for asylum seekers more difficult.

“After their rebirth as Somalians, certain people would be happy to find themselves previously opposed to toughening of asylum laws,” a voice-over says at the end of the video. 

Following recent legislation passed by parliament for tougher legislation, the SVP last week called for further action to ensure that asylum seekers are placed in closed internment camps.

The video and various posters are part of a “that’s enough” campaign calling for a “just and humane” approach to asylum in the country.

By humorously depicting politicians known for their positions in favour of tougher asylum policies in the position of migrants seeking asylum, Amnesty said in a news release on Monday that it hoped to “awaken a sentiment of solidarity and understanding for asylum seekers”.

The campaign, supported by other groups, runs until the end of the month.