In a report published in April 2019, Swiss NGO Public Eye alleges that agrochemical company Syngenta continues to sell highly hazardous pesticides, many of which no longer authorised in Switzerland or the European Union, to lower and middle income countires with weaker standards. Public Eye is calling on Syngenta to take its most toxic pesticides of the market and replace them with safer alternatives, as well as on the Swiss Government to implement mandatory human rights and environmental due diligence requirements for Swiss companies, as proposed by the Responsible Business Initiative, and support an international treaty to regulate the business of highly hazardous pesticides.

In response to the findings, Syngenta stated it was in favour of "regulating pesticides based on risks not hazards, and stressed that it complies with all of the regulatory and safety standards of the countries where its products are registered for sale". The Annex of the report also contains detailed responses from Syngenta to Public Eye.

More information is available below.