Mobilisation at UBS AGM: Activists Demand UBS to stop funding oppression
Camille Delgrange, Collectif BreakFree Suisse, +41 76 839 88 68
Camille Delgrange, Collectif BreakFree Suisse, +41 76 839 88 68
Today, a coalition of climate justice, human rights, and anti-racism organizations staged a peaceful but powerful protest outside the UBS Annual General Meeting (AGM) in Basel. The action, part of the Stand Up for Minnesota tour, brought together activists from Switzerland, the United States, and Thailand to demand that UBS immediately divest from companies enabling human rights violations.
Why UBS is Under Fire
UBS continues to finance corporations like Palantir, CoreCivic, GeoGroup, Elbit Systems, Glencore, and GULF which are directly implicated in:
- Human rights violations through ICE contracts and surveillance technology used against migrants and Palestinians.
- Climate destruction via fossil fuel expansion and environmentally devastating mining practices.
-
Corporate repression and legal harassment (SLAPP suits) in Southeast Asia.
A United Front for Justice
Speakers at the protest included delegates Rafael Gonzalez (Tufawon), a hip-hop Dakota/Boricua artist from Minnesota and Janette Zahia Corcelius, a member of the Democrats Socialists of America— alongside delegates and presentatives from BDS, Urgewald, BreakFree Suisse, Climate Strike and Collective Climate Justice who emphasized the urgent need for UBS to align its investments with human rights, climate justice, and democratic values.
Janette Corcelius (Trade-Unionist, Minnesota Delegation), said: UBS is profiting off of our suffering and the destruction of our communities in the United States by investing in ICE contractors (Palantir, CoreCivic, Geo Group, CACI International). We demand that they divest and instead invest in supporting the migrant community in Switzerland.
Tufawon (Dakota/Boricua Hip-Hop Artist, Minnesota Delegation), said: We’re here to expose the truth: UBS’s money is blood money. It’s time for them to choose justice over profit.
Camille Delgrange, Collective BreakFree Suisse, said: The Dutch pension fund ABP has shown it’s possible to divest from Palantir. UBS has no excuse. The time for action is now.
In 2024, the Swiss National Contact Point (NCP) to the OECD investigated a complaint filed by three organisations, including the NGO BankTrack, accusing UBS and the SNB of failing to comply with OECD guidelines due to their investments in GeoGroup and CoreCivic, companies responsible for multiple human rights violations (SECO, August 2024). UBS refused to participate in the mediation and confidential dialogue that was proposed to it, arguing in particular that “there is no direct link between its services and the alleged human rights violations, particularly in passive investment contexts” (SECO, Oct. 2025). However, the principle 13 of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) states that businesses must respect human rights, which includes avoiding causing or contributing to adverse human rights impacts through their activities or business relationships. Passive investments can be considered a “business relationship” if they provide financial support to entities linked to abuses. Principle 17 requires businesses to conduct human rights due diligence, including assessing and addressing risks in their investment portfolios. Furthermore, the OECD Guidelines explicitly state that enterprises should “seek to prevent or mitigate an adverse impact where they have not contributed to that impact, when the impact is nevertheless directly linked to their operations, products or services by a business relationship, even if they have not contributed to this impact.” This can include passive investments in funds or companies linked to human rights abuses. In this regard, the National Contact Point made three recommendations to the bank: (1) Include passive investments in its overall risk assessment and review its existing passive investments to verify their compatibility with the OECD Guidelines; (2) Strengthen its engagement with index providers and communicate its human rights expectations to them. (3) Advocate for a clarification of responsible business conduct obligations with regard to passive investments, as part of a multistakeholder approach. (BankTrack, Oct. 2025).The follow-up is expected by the end of April.
Will UBS provide an update on any actions taken or planned in response?
Demands to UBS
The coalition demands that UBS:
✅ Divest from ICE contractors (Palantir, GeoGroup, AT&T, CoreCivic, CACI)
✅ Stop financing GULF’s repression and LNG expansion in Southeast Asia
✅ Divest from Elbit Systems
✅ End all financial support for Glencore’s destructive mining practices
✅ Align investments with human rights, democracy, and climate justice
Next Steps
The Stand Up with Minnesota Tour 2026 continues with events in Zurich, Lausanne, Geneva, and Bern, culminating in a protest at the Swiss National Bank (SNB) AGM and on the Bundesplatz on April 24th. The coalition calls on all concerned citizens to join these actions and demand accountability from Swiss financial institutions.
For more information and a full schedule of events, see here.
About the Stand Up for Minnesota Tour 2026
The Stand Up for Minnesota Tour 2026 is a transnational mobilization connecting struggles to unite against repression. From April 14–24, delegates from Minnesota will tour Switzerland, France, and the Netherlands to build solidarity and demand divestment of European investors from main ICE contractors.
This item was originally published on BreakFree Suisse's website.
