Giving human rights credit: EU countries agree to toughen scrutiny of export loans loans

05/05/2011 – It has now been over a year since Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation published the report ‚From Words to Deeds: making the EU ban in ‘tools of torture’ a reality”.

21/01/2011 – Amnesty International has urged José Manuel Barroso, President of the European Commission, who will receive a visit on 24 January by President Islam Karimov of Uzbekistan, to make human rights central to their discussions.

Amnesty International EU Office Press Release European Parliament passes “Tools of Torture” resolution

09/06/2010 – The ECA-Watch network and Amnesty International would like to draw attention to the conclusions of the former Swedish Presidency and the Spanish Presidency, following the Business and Human Rights Conference that took place in Stockholm in November 2009. At this venue it was decided that the EU and its Member States should emphasise the importance of implementing human rights within export credit guarantees.

Legal loopholes allow European companies to trade in ‘tools of torture’

17/03/2010 – This report, written jointly by Amnesty International and the Omega Research Foundation (Omega), seeks to facilitate and inform an EU-led process currently assessing the implementation and effectiveness of EC Regulation 1236/2005.

14/12/2009 – Amnesty International welcomes the public consultation on the EC’s Communication on the EU role in Global Health. The consultation could be used to ensure that the European Union’s (EU) internal and external actions related to Global Health are fully consistent with the EU’s commitment to place human rights at the core of sustainable development. To this end, Amnesty International underlines that the concept of global health should be explicitly addressed as a human rights issue.

22/07/2009 – With this document, we present specific recommendations to the Swedish Presidency on a range of pressing human rights issues on which Sweden is uniquely placed to effect change. These include ensuring the adoption of the new anti-discrimination directive, taking decisive steps towards the proper implementation of the EU Guidelines on Torture, utilizing the window of opportunity to move towards standard setting in corporate accountability, and setting clear signals on human rights protection in the Stockholm Programme.

EU: Make sure EU companies respect human rights

30/06/2009 –  Oil has been extracted commercially in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, for half a century. The massive oil deposits have generated billions of dollars in revenues for the country yet the vast majority of people living in the oil producing areas live in poverty. Oil may have brought wealth to the few, but it has brought impoverishment, conflict, human rights abuses and despair to many.

30/06/2009 – Oil has been extracted commercially in the Niger Delta, Nigeria, for half a century. The massive oil deposits have generated billions of dollars in revenues for the country yet the vast majority of people living in the oil producing areas live in poverty. Oil may have brought wealth to the few, but it has brought impoverishment, conflict, human rights abuses and despair to many.