ABSTRACT
Tax havens are characterised in the popular imagination as rogue micro-states, captured by their finance sectors and politically neutered, producing low accountability legislation, and offering bolt holes and impregnable citadels for the wealthy but unscrupulous. Switzerland presents itself as a beacon of democracy and is a host of the United Nations. Switzerland is widely regarded as the world's leading tax haven. Switzerland is now under pressure from the United Nations to reform its taxation and financial secrecy policies, which are seen as abusive of international human rights. Specifically, these policies are alleged to have encouraged illicit financial flows. This chapter focuses on one of the consequences: the deleterious effect on women's rights and gender equality worldwide. In light of extraterritorial obligations of states in matters of economic, social and cultural rights, the chapter looks at the criticisms of Switzerland which have been made by the Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW Committee).
