Switzerland rejects effort to hold Swiss firms liable for environmental violations abroad

Swiss voters on Sunday, November 29 rejected the initiative to hold local companies accountable for their actions abroad, including environmental violations. In a rare nationwide vote, the initiative called "Responsible Business Initiative (RBI)" received the popular vote but failed to obtain a cantonal majority, which has never happened in more than 50 years. States are referred to as Cantons in Switzerland and for an initiative to pass, a cantonal majority is a must, apart from winning the popular vote. 

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According to BBC, the initiative managed to gain 50.7% of votes, but only secured a majority in about a third of the nation's cantons. The initiative, which was launched by NGOs over a decade ago, was seeking to change the way Swiss companies operate by making them accountable under the law for their misdeeds in other countries. The initiative, despite winning the popular vote, cannot be passed as it failed to secure a majority in most of the 26 Swiss cantons. 

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What do critics say?

Critics argue that the initiative if passed, would have impacted Swiss companies for actions of independent suppliers abroad. It would have made Swiss businesses liable for misdeeds of their suppliers working in other countries. The initiative never received the backing of the government and the majority of Swiss companies due to the above-mentioned concern. However, some businesses and the majority of the Swiss population did support the campaign as reflected in the result of the vote. 

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The Swiss population on Sunday also voted on another campaign that sought a ban on public financing of arms in the country. The initiative lost both, the popular vote and a cantonal majority. Experts suggest that the initiatives were rejected because of the economic uncertainties induced by the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, the government is working on a law to keep checks on Swiss companies' overseas activities, but it is in no way similar to the rejected initiative, which would have allowed businesses to be sued for their actions abroad. 

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(Image Credit: AP)