Read the initial assessment issued by the Swiss NCP – 17 August 2016

The NGO Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) filed a submission alleging that Fédération Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) has not observed the OECD Guidelines by allowing Sheikh Salman bin Ibrahim Al Khalifa to stand for candidacy in the FIFA presidential election without first carrying out adequate due diligence regarding human rights. According to the submitting party, the presidential candidate was responsible for punitive measures against football clubs and players in respect of their support for pro-democracy protests in Bahrain in 2011.

In its initial assessment issued on 17 August 2016, the NCP did not accept the submission for the following reasons, among others: firstly, the activities mentioned in the submission were not of a commercial nature and therefore the NCP found that the OECD Guidelines were  not applicable to this specific case; secondly, the OECD Guidelines do not foresee human rights due diligence for such election processes and therefore the alleged activities are not in the scope of the OECD Guidelines.