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In controversial referendum, Swiss companies have avoided move to extend accountability for human rights violations and environmental damage caused abroad
By Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi
ZURICH, Nov.29 (Reuters) – Swiss companies narrowly avoided facing greater responsibility for human rights and environmental abuse on Sunday after a nationwide vote rejected the proposal due to regional differences despite the support of the popular majority.
In a divisive referendum, 50.7% of Swiss voters supported the Responsible Business Initiative’s (RBI) proposals to expand accountability for international human rights violations and abuses. environment caused by large Swiss companies and the companies they control abroad.
But the initiative failed to win the support of a majority of cantons, a necessary condition for a public initiative to be launched in Switzerland, paving the way for the entry into force of a more government counter-proposal. sweet.
It is the first time in more than 60 years that a Swiss vote has failed for regional reasons after gaining popular support.
“The Federal Council is satisfied with the result, but it is also aware that many of those who fought for years for the initiative are now disappointed”, declared the Minister of Justice, Karin Keller-Sutter, during of a press conference.
She said the enactment of new government measures meant supporters would not leave the campaign empty-handed. “The Federal Council is convinced that this is a good way to achieve the common and undisputed goal of better protection of human rights and the environment.”
The government’s proposal will force companies to step up and publicly report controls on their overseas operations and supply chains, measures so far voluntary, but stops before extending accountability to the courts Swiss.
Supporters of the initiative said its broad public support – a rare, albeit symbolic, victory for a politically and economically progressive issue in the traditionally frozen country – remains the cause of closer scrutiny by multinationals and corporations. commodities in one of the world’s major shopping centers.
“Human rights are such a fundamental issue. People understand that you cannot justify human rights violations on economic grounds,” Florian Wettstein, professor of business ethics at Reuters, told Reuters. the University of St. Gallen and co-organizer of the initiative.
In a polarizing campaign, the government and multinationals denounced the negative economic consequences of the proposal, while activists, religious groups and various political factions argued that Switzerland risked falling behind other countries for its sake. ‘tackle progressive social and economic problems without it.
“It was the most aggressive campaign I have ever seen in 20 years in politics,” MP Christa Markwalder told Swiss TV station SRF.
Meanwhile, voters more clearly rejected a proposal to ban funding for arms manufacturers, the latest anti-military referendum in a country that has not waged an external war for 200 years.
The vote, which had implications for major Swiss banks and investors, including the country’s central bank and pension funds, as well as Swiss industry, was rejected by 57.5%.
Organizers said the over 40% approval achieved by the initiative, which extends beyond the country’s most left-wing political camps, has nonetheless put pressure on arms funding and has shown the need new actions. (Reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi; Editing by Kirsten Donovan and Jan Harvey)
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