Switzerland – HRIA
2 National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2020-23
2.1 Pillar 1: state duty to protect
Guiding Principles 1 to 3
2.1.2 Operational principles: legislative and information policy measures
Measure 8: Human rights in tourism
The federal government supports the Roundtable on Human Rights in Tourism assessment of human rights impacts along the tourism value chain. This project, which will initially focus on Thailand, adopts a multi-stakeholder approach and seeks to develop practical guidelines for the tourism industry as a whole.
Measure 11: Human rights due diligence by public-private development partnerships
The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) Risk Assessment for Partnerships with the Private Sector takes into account the impact that these partnerships could have on human and employment rights, government structures and the environment. Consequently, the federal government will not work with partners which have repeatedly been involved in human rights abuses or cannot provide cogent evidence that they have substantially reduced their exposure to human rights risks.
The federal government is currently working with other donors on a risk management model for public-private development projects. The outcome of this process, which takes place within the framework of the Private Sector Engagement Working Group of the Donor Committee for Enterprise Development (DCED), could necessitate amendments to the SDC Risk Assessment for Partnerships with the Private Sector.
| Objective | Indicator | Responsibility |
|---|---|---|
| Prevent human rights risks in public-private development partnerships. | A tangible example that the SDC Risk Assessment guidelines have been implemented, including a human rights risk assessment, prior to entering into a new public-private development partnership. | FDFA [Federal Department of Foreign Affairs],
EAER [Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research]. |
2.1.5 Policy coherence
Guiding Principle 10
Measure 20: Promotion of the UN Guiding Principles in consultations, human rights dialogue and bilateral projects
The federal government systematically profiles ‘business and human rights’ in political consultations and human rights dialogue conducted with partner States. When preparing consultations and dialogue meetings, the FDFA consults with different federal agencies as well as other interest groups such as the private sector and civil society.
The federal government also promotes the UN Guiding Principles in supporting specific bilateral projects. It also engages in political dialogue and strategic partnerships with the governments of host States to discuss circumstances where regulations, policies, or other action on the part of the host State make it difficult for Swiss business enterprises to respect human rights.
3 Implementing, monitoring and reviewing the NAP
The FDFA [Federal Department of Foreign Affairs] and the EAER [Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research will base its evaluation of NAP implementation on the performance indicators assigned to each measure. All policy instruments include clear objectives as well as performance indicators to gauge the progress the federal government has made on implementation and improve the transparency of the outcomes. The federal government will also explore the possibility of conducting an impact assessment at some point in the future. At the end of the legislative period, the FDFA and the EAER will publish a short joint status report.