Skip to main content

Business and development

Article as analysis

Yes to responsible business!

Dear reader, please vote "Yes" to the Responsible Business Initiative on 29 November – for the sake of people and the environment, to protect human rights and nature!

Article as analysis

A new social contract is needed

Workers’ rights are under extreme pressure worldwide, despite being among the human rights that are legally binding in 187 countries. The International Trade Union Confederation’s Global Rights Index documents the dramatic trend.

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

Responsible business conduct – now!

The corona crisis has brutally exposed the profound inequalities in global supply chains. At the same time, the crisis is a test of how seriously corporations take their responsibility.

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

Switzerland’s new yet incomplete action plan

The Federal Council has adopted the Swiss National Action Plan (NAP) 2020-2023 for compliance with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights. It does not constitute a solid basis for respecting human rights abroad.

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.

Article as analysis

Where the hopes of the South come together

Swiss politics is struggling for a legal framework in the relationship between business and human rights. In Geneva, the states are working on a legally binding UN treaty. Here and there, civil society is not giving up.