Human rights and the private sector

International Symposium
27 November 2003
Basel, Switzerland

Background

Everyone has the right to live in dignity, freedom and security. Nothing more and nothing less is laid down in the “Universal Declaration of Human Rights”, which was approved by the United Nations in 1948.

The original text has since been added to by the international pacts on civil and political rights as well as on economic, social and cultural rights. These different generations of human rights are considered to be universal, inalienable, indivisible and interdependent.

The signing of international declarations and pacts does not, however, mean that everything is alright in the everyday life of people, especially in developing countries.

Even today, human rights are still all too often violated. Liberia, Myanmar, Congo and Somalia all stand for dreadful human right deficits, which continue to fill hundreds of pages in the Annual Report of Amnesty International.

But it is not only about despotic rulers: critics of human rights abuses report on the exploitation of the poorest of the poor with starvation wages and slavery-like conditions, whether in the textile industry, the extractive industries or elsewhere.

And the pharmaceutical industry also comes in for criticism – especially in the context of patent rights and access to effective medicines for poor people.

What is the responsibility of the state, civil society and the private sector in terms of protecting human rights? Should companies do more than confine their activities to complying with the current law? What practical implications do human rights have for a pharmaceutical company like Novartis?

In the tradition of our annual symposium, experts from all over the world will debate the subject of human rights and examine it from different perspectives. In this way, the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development aims to make a contribution to this highly relevant issue.