Human rights
For Novartis, respect for human rights is an essential ingredient of good management. As a responsible corporate citizen, we aim to exert an enlightened presence wherever we operate.
We do everything in our power to ensure that we are not complicit in any violations of human rights - whether these are civil, political, economic, social or cultural in nature.
As well as actively avoiding involvement in the abuse of human rights, we share the notion that companies - within a fair societal division of responsibilities - also have a role to play in promoting human rights, such as the right to an adequate standard of living.
As well as being a signatory of the UN Global Compact, Novartis is one of the few multinational corporations to have developed a guideline on human rights. This sets out our human rights commitments and responsibilities and is implemented through normal management procedures.
Through the work of the Novartis Foundation for Sustainable Development, we have taken a leadership role in helping to define the part business can play in protecting and promoting human rights, particularly with regard to the right to health.
We are involved in pioneering efforts to apply the concept of a living wage across our worldwide operations. Together with institutions like the Business Leaders Initiative on Human Rights (BLIHR), the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), the International Business Leaders Forum (IBLF), and the International Finance Corporation (IFC), we are helping to develop new tools for mainstreaming human rights into business and assessing corporate impacts.
Related links
Novartis Institute for Tropical Diseases (NITD) ›
Business and Human Rights Resource Center ›
The right to health, a duty for whom? ›
by Professor Klaus Leisinger
Related documents
On corporate responsibility for human rights ›
by Professor Klaus Leisinger
BLIHR 2005: A guide for integrating human rights into business management ›
BLIHR 2005: A human rights matrix ›
Living wage
Novartis became one of the first international companies to develop and implement a voluntary commitment to pay a living wage to all its employees around the world.