Swiss Responsible Business Initiative rejected despite securing a majority of the popular vote

by Zaineb Ali, Universal Rights Group Blog, Blog, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues

On Sunday 29 November, the day of the referendum for the contentious and hard-fought Swiss Responsible Business Initiative (RBI), human rights expert Dick Marty stated , ‘if victory doesn’t come today, it will certainly come tomorrow.’ In the end, although the RBI won a majority of the popular vote, 50.7%, it failed to secure the majority of cantonal votes required to pass …

Business and human rights: ‘building back better’ from COVID-19

by Louis Mason, Universal Rights Group and Cathy Sun, Universal Rights Group Blog, Blog, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues

As the ongoing COVID-19 crisis lays bare deep socioeconomic divisions that plague even some of the wealthiest States around the world, the crucial role that businesses have in ensuring the enjoyment of human rights by all is brought into ever stronger focus. While governments have struggled with the balancing act of enacting restrictive emergency measures to contain the spread of …

Business, human rights rights and corruption

In May 2018, URG published a policy report which demonstrated for the first time (using empirical evidence) that corruption has significant negative impacts on the enjoyment of human rights, and that – conversely – the best way to prevent corruption is to strengthen respect for, and the promotion and protection of, human rights (i.e. address root causes). Through the 2018 …

Mapping global business opinions on human rights

by Marc Limon, Executive Director of the Universal Rights Group and the URG team Blog, Contemporary and emerging human rights issues

The UN Human Rights Council endorsed the Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights in 2011. Though an important milestone, the debate continues on the scope, content, and legal status of companies’ responsibility to respect human rights asserted in those Principles. To gain closer insights into this debate, between 2014 and 2015, the Universal Rights Group, together with partners including …