The Berne Declaration
The Berne Declaration - the Swiss NGO working towards equitable North-South relations
The Berne Declaration is a Swiss non-governmental organization with 20'000 members. Through research, public eduaction and advocacy work, it has promoted more equitable, sustainable and democratic North-South relations since 1968.
The Berne Declaration monitors the role of Swiss corporations, banks, and government agencies. It addresses the problems of unequal international trade and financial relations, unsustainable consumption patterns and cultural prejudices. It calls on all Swiss actors – the private sector and the state, citizens and consumers – to assume their responsibilities in resolving these problems.
The Berne Declaration is completely independent, and derives most of its revenues from individual membership fees and donations. It has a staff of 16 and two secretariats in Zurich and Lausanne for the German and French speaking regions. It also entertains a small branch in the Italian speaking part of Switzerland. The BD is an active member of many international NGO networks. It is your contact or partner organization in Switzerland.
«In today's era of globalization, the elites, the governments and banks are building new alliances. In the same way, we must forge alliances amongst ourselves - between India and Switzerland, between you and me. The alliance between the Berne Declaration and the Save the Narmada Movement is a model of this new cooperation.»
Arundhati Roy, writer, 15 November 1999 in Zurich/Switzerland
International trade
The BD is committed to making world trade more equitable and sustainable. It monitors the trade policies of the Swiss government, and is opposed to the WTO’s Millenium Round and to any clones of the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI). One of the particular goals of the BD’s trade program is to integrate gender concerns into international trade negotiations.
International financial relations
The BD collaborates in international NGO campaigns against destructive large dam projects. It helped to create the World Commission on Dams in 1997 and continues to advocate for the implementation of its path-breaking recommendations. The BD also works as a networker, information-provider, media informant and watchdog to scrutinize and influence the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The BD monitors projects, policy reforms of the Bretton Woods institutions as well as of the Swiss Government with special emphasis on environmental and social concerns. Priority areas include the water-, large dams- and forest sector, private-public partnership programs and debt issues.
World Economic Forum in Davos
In 2000, the BD launched a campaign called «The Public Eye on Davos», with the aim to establish an international NGO presence at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos/Switzerland. Together with partner NGOs from different countries, the BD calls on the WEF members to make decisions of public interest more transparent, accountable and sustainable. This includes concerns on trade and financial policies, investment treaties, the social and environmental records of transnational corporations, etc.
Agriculture
The BD believes that the root cause of world hunger is the unequal distribution of wealth and power, and the concentration of control over natural resources in the hands of the rich. It supports international initiatives to strengthen farmers rights, and is opposed to any patenting of life forms. The BD also monitors the business policies of the large Swiss agrochemical corporation Syngenta and supports the implementation of the International FAO Seed-Treaty and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Financial relations
The BD monitors international financial institutions, export credit agencies, Swiss banks and other private investors in order to integrate human rights and environmental concerns into their policies and projects.
Banking Secrecy and Swiss Banks
Switzerland attracts approximately one third of all international private banking and in most cases the owner pays no tax in their country of origin. Tax evasion is not a crime in Switzerland, which means that countries of the global South loose at least 5 billion US dollars of tax income annually because untaxed capital is invested via Swiss banks - five times more than all the development aid from Switzerland. The Berne Declaration is working to get "tax haven" Switzerland closed. The Berne Declaration believes that investors financing a project share responsibility for the project's environmental and social impacts. We closely monitor the investment banking departments of the big Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS and put pressure on them to make private sector projects more sustainable.
Clean Clothes Campaign
The BD is engaged in improving miserable working conditions in the international textile industry. BD coordinates the Swiss wing of the international Clean Clothes Campaign. The campaign mobilizes consumers and young people to encourage Swiss textile companies to adopt an internationally acknowledged code of conduct and an independent monitoring system. A pilot project in India and China was started in collaboration with three Swiss retailers.
The BD publishes magazines in German (EvB-Magazin), French (Solidaire), and English (BD News). While EvB-Magazin and Solidaire are subscription-based, the BD News are disseminated to an international audience free of cost at least once a year. All BD programs regularly inform interested partners about their activities via electronic mail as well.
Get in touch!
Arundhati Roy, writer, 15 November 1999 in Zurich/Switzerland
The Berne Declaration is currently working on the following issues:
International trade
The BD is committed to making world trade more equitable and sustainable. It monitors the trade policies of the Swiss government, and is opposed to the WTO’s Millenium Round and to any clones of the Multilateral Agreement on Investments (MAI). One of the particular goals of the BD’s trade program is to integrate gender concerns into international trade negotiations.
International financial relations
The BD collaborates in international NGO campaigns against destructive large dam projects. It helped to create the World Commission on Dams in 1997 and continues to advocate for the implementation of its path-breaking recommendations. The BD also works as a networker, information-provider, media informant and watchdog to scrutinize and influence the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF). The BD monitors projects, policy reforms of the Bretton Woods institutions as well as of the Swiss Government with special emphasis on environmental and social concerns. Priority areas include the water-, large dams- and forest sector, private-public partnership programs and debt issues.
World Economic Forum in Davos
In 2000, the BD launched a campaign called «The Public Eye on Davos», with the aim to establish an international NGO presence at the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos/Switzerland. Together with partner NGOs from different countries, the BD calls on the WEF members to make decisions of public interest more transparent, accountable and sustainable. This includes concerns on trade and financial policies, investment treaties, the social and environmental records of transnational corporations, etc.
Agriculture
The BD believes that the root cause of world hunger is the unequal distribution of wealth and power, and the concentration of control over natural resources in the hands of the rich. It supports international initiatives to strengthen farmers rights, and is opposed to any patenting of life forms. The BD also monitors the business policies of the large Swiss agrochemical corporation Syngenta and supports the implementation of the International FAO Seed-Treaty and the Convention on Biological Diversity.
Financial relations
The BD monitors international financial institutions, export credit agencies, Swiss banks and other private investors in order to integrate human rights and environmental concerns into their policies and projects.
Banking Secrecy and Swiss Banks
Switzerland attracts approximately one third of all international private banking and in most cases the owner pays no tax in their country of origin. Tax evasion is not a crime in Switzerland, which means that countries of the global South loose at least 5 billion US dollars of tax income annually because untaxed capital is invested via Swiss banks - five times more than all the development aid from Switzerland. The Berne Declaration is working to get "tax haven" Switzerland closed. The Berne Declaration believes that investors financing a project share responsibility for the project's environmental and social impacts. We closely monitor the investment banking departments of the big Swiss banks Credit Suisse and UBS and put pressure on them to make private sector projects more sustainable.
Clean Clothes Campaign
The BD is engaged in improving miserable working conditions in the international textile industry. BD coordinates the Swiss wing of the international Clean Clothes Campaign. The campaign mobilizes consumers and young people to encourage Swiss textile companies to adopt an internationally acknowledged code of conduct and an independent monitoring system. A pilot project in India and China was started in collaboration with three Swiss retailers.
The BD publishes magazines in German (EvB-Magazin), French (Solidaire), and English (BD News). While EvB-Magazin and Solidaire are subscription-based, the BD News are disseminated to an international audience free of cost at least once a year. All BD programs regularly inform interested partners about their activities via electronic mail as well.
Get in touch!