Switzerland: OECD National Contact Point accepts human rights complaint against UBS over private prison investments
In January 2024, BankTrack, the Coalition for Immigrant Freedom, and Worth Rises filed a complaint with the National Contact Point of Switzerland against Swiss-based bank UBS. The complaint alleges that the banks' financial involvement with private prison operators CoreCivic and GEO Group contravenes their responsibilities under the OECD Guidelines on Responsible Business Conduct. The Business & Human Rights Resource Centre previously invited CoreCivic and GeoGroup to respond to allegations made against them regarding alleged human rights violations in their private prison operations. Both companies responded to these allegations.
The NGOs have also filed complaints in the UK against the Swiss National Banks HSBC and Barclays.
In August 2024, the Swiss OECD National Contact Point accepted the human rights complaint against UBS over private prison investments. It has published its Initial Assessment of the complaint, and is offering its offices for mediation between UBS and the NGOs.
UBS argued that that there is “no direct link” between its operations and human rights violations, as the bank’s shares are not actively managed but rather are held in index funds. They also commented that they had engaged with index providers on human rights, including marked consultation led by the Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI), and had applied "controversial behaviour" exclusions to actively managed products.