Switzerland
4. Position of the Federal Council on the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights
4.3 The position and expectations of the Federal Council
The UNGP distinguish between three types of adverse human rights impacts on the part of business enterprises:
- Business enterprises may abuse human rights through their own activities.
- Business enterprises may contribute to abuses of human rights through their activities.
- Business enterprises may be involved in abuses of human rights via their business relationships, without contributing to those impacts themselves.
Business enterprises that are based and/or operating in Switzerland should duly fulfil their duty to uphold human rights. Here, they can draw guidance from Pillar 2 of the UNGP and from the ‘Human Rights’ chapter of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises10. The UN’s guidance on implementing Pillar 2 The corporate responsibility to respect human rights11 as well as the relevant sector and topic-specific guidelines serve as a basis for this12. Business enterprises that are exposed to particularly high human rights risks should develop internal policies and procedures for their human rights due diligence for the business activities concerned. Their precise form will depend on factors such as the size of the enterprise and the nature of its business (sector, geographical scope, etc.). Attention should be paid to the specific circumstances of and options open to SMEs. The Federal Council will endeavour to support business enterprises and SMEs in particular, as they proceed with implementation, in order to keep the costs and administrative burden at a reasonable level. A number of different instruments are available depending on the business and nature of the enterprise:
– Human rights due diligence (Guiding Principles 17-21): (1) Identify potential and actual risks and impacts, (2) take precautions to minimise them, (3) review measures, and (4) report on activities and identified risks.
– Fundamental commitment (Guiding Principle 16): A clearly communicated independent undertaking from senior company management to respect human rights.
– Remediation (Guiding Principle 22): The creation of and cooperation in legitimate processes for remediation.
– Consultation with stakeholder groups (Guiding Principle 18): The use of instruments to consult affected stakeholder groups (e.g. vulnerable groups such as children).
The recommendations in this report and the National Action Plan are intended to serve business enterprises as a reference framework for their activities implementing the UNGP13.
In compliance with Pillar 2 of the UNGP and the ‘Human Rights’ chapter of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, business enterprises that are based and/or operate in Switzerland should respect human rights in all of their business activities, wherever they operate14. Accordingly they should seek to prevent adverse human rights impacts.
The corporate responsibility to respect human rights refers to internationally recognised human rights. (…).In addition, the Federal Council expects business enterprises in armed conflicts to abide by the standards of international humanitarian law20. Where local legislation does not correspond to international standards, the Federal Council recommends that business enterprises still comply with the international standards.
The activities of Swiss companies should not result in any adverse impacts on human rights. They should therefore seek to prevent any negative effects to which they are directly linked through their business relationships.
Business enterprises thus also have at least an indirect responsibility for business relationships via which they either themselves contribute to human rights abuses, or might otherwise become involved in. ‘Business relationships’ in the sense of the UNGP are understood to include relations with business partners (including entities in their value chains), and any other non-State or State entity linked to the company’s business operations, products or services.
5. National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
5.5 Corporate responsibility [page 11]
The Federal Council expects business enterprises to fulfil their human rights responsibility in Switzerland and everywhere else they operate.
Under the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, the corporate responsibility to respect human rights applies to all business enterprises, regardless of their size, the sector to which they belong, their operating environment, ownership or structure.
Consultations with stakeholder groups from business, civil society and the academic world showed that the greatest challenges faced by business enterprises based and/or operating in Switzerland are connected with their operations and business relationships abroad. For this reason, while it does not exclude domestic operations, the NAP is geared more closely to business activities abroad.
As determined in the UNGP, the time and expense attached to possible conditions should be in proportion to the human rights risks to which the business enterprise is exposed.
In view of their limited human and specialist resources, SMEs often face particular challenges in assessing and dealing with possible human rights risks. To ensure that measures are implementable, the NAP therefore pays particular attention to the needs of SMEs, with the aim of maintaining their scope for action. Unnecessary administrative burdens and costs, in particular, should be avoided.
5. National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights
5.7 Pillar 1: state duty to protect
5.7.1 Fundamental principles
Guiding Principle 2: Business enterprises’ foreign operations [page 13]
The Federal Council regards preventing human rights abuses by Swiss companies abroad, and ensuring access to effective remedy, as integral parts of its State duty to protect and its constitutional mandate to promote respect for human rights33. This is particularly true with regard to the foreign activities of companies that are based in Switzerland34.
However, in view of the political, legal and practical obstacles to the extraterritorial pursuit of policy and application and enforcement of law, the federal government is concentrating on domestic measures, the reach of which extends to partner States and the activities of business enterprises abroad. It also promotes international agreements and standards. As part of its international cooperation efforts, it supports States in the fulfilment of their duties under international law to protect.