Country exclusions

Swiss Re also excludes certain countries from its business that have particularly poor human rights records. This step goes further than compliance with international trade controls (ITCs). Our goal is to refrain from directly underwriting risks or making investments in entities that are based in these countries.

During 2015, we revised the methodology we use to identify the countries to be excluded from our business transactions. Specifically, we started to apply two independently compiled human rights indexes for our assessments. As a result, the list of excluded countries has widened and now comprises the Central African Republic, South Sudan, DR Congo and Chad, in addition to North Korea, Somalia, Sudan (North) and Syria. We implemented the revised list at the beginning of 2016 and will update it annually.

As the Sustainability Risk Framework is based on the principles of respecting human rights and protecting the environment, the SBR process with its two due diligence tools and the company and country exclusions are our principal means to ensure compliance with the UN Global Compact in our core business.