Switzerland – Forced Labour and Modern Slavery

2 National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2020-23

2.2 Pillar 2: the corporate responsibility to respect human rights

As part of the UN Global Impact, a number of Swiss companies …are involved in efforts to eliminate all forms of forced and compulsory labour; they seek to abolish child labour…

 

2.2.2 Operational principles: human rights due diligence

Guiding Principles 16 to 21

Measure 27: Promote efforts to end all forms of child exploitation in supply chains

The exploitation of children includes child labour, forced labour, sexual exploitation and child trafficking. The federal government works with civil society and the private sector to develop tools and organise events to raise awareness among businesses about the exploitation of children in all its forms.

The federal government will establish partnerships with the private sector and civil society to advance Goal 8.7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: end child labour in all its forms by 2025, eradicate forced labour, and end modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030.

 

Measure 29: Public-private partnerships to promote respect for human rights in the value chain

To promote the implementation of labour rights and human rights by business enterprises, the federal government, together with the ILO, supports the Better Work programme for the textile industry and the Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme to support SMEs in creating decent working conditions. These projects are jointly run by the ILO, governments, the private sector and unions, and are focused on compliance with fundamental labour standards, including measures to combat child and forced labour.