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Business and development

YES to the Responsible Business Initiative!

On 29 November, Swiss voters will decide whether companies will also be held accountable abroad for damage they have caused.

Article as analysis

Back to «normal»?

The corona pandemic is not just an epoch-making health and humanitarian challenge, but in many developing countries will also translate into a protracted economic, political and social crisis. International solidarity is needed now more than ever.

Article as analysis

Major challenge or wishful thinking?

The United Nations's sustainable development goals can only be achieved with full support of the economy. But is the corporate sector even willing and ready for this? Answers by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development.

Political article

After the elections...

Much has already been written about the 2019 parliamentary election results. One searched the media in vain for an assessment of their implications for Switzerland‘s development policy approaches or its foreign policy.

Political article

Only diligent businesses accepted

The statutory requirement to conduct business with due diligence is meant to have a preventive effect, ensuring that business never violates human rights or harms the environment in the first place. A case study from France.

Jai Jagat 2020

Political article

Genuine development leaves no one behind

Development? Climate change? Equal rights? Human rights? Civil society everywhere is demanding to have a say. Rajagopal P.V. and Jill Carr-Harris aim to channel and network this movement worldwide. An interview.

Political article

"They said they were bringing development"

The Federal Council plans to work much more with private sector capital for development cooperation in the future. A closer look reveals enormous risks. The case study of a Swiss agricultural company in Ghana.

Political article

Corporations prefer trials in Zambia

«What do people in Zambia think of Glencore?», asked the Alliance Sud magazine "global" Mtwalo Msoni, national coordinator of the NGO Publish What You Pay in Zambia.

Political article

Things do occasionally move, after all!

The discussion on human rights and environmental responsibility on the part of Swiss multinationals has now become mainstream. The Parliament is dealing seriously with the Responsible Business Initiative.