08/06/2018 – We, the undersigned NGOs, ActionAid, Amnesty International, Anti-Slavery International, Clean Clothes Campaign, European Coalition for Corporate Justice and International Federation for Human Rights, are pleased to provide for your earnest consideration the following suggested elements for an EU Action Plan on Responsible Business Conduct.
These new rules should eventually stop EU produced surveillance equipment from being exported to countries where there is a high risk it would be used to abuse journalists, activists and others who work to defend rights.
Brutal implements of torture like spiked batons and weighted leg irons were supposed to have been banned for good in the EU. So why are they for sale in Paris today
26/07/2017 – Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International write to urge the European Commission to re-evaluate its Implementing Decision 2016/1250 on the adequacy of the protection provided by the EU-U.S. Privacy Shield on the basis that the United States of America (United States) does not ensure a level of fundamental rights protection regarding the processing of personal data that is essentially equivalent to that guaranteed within the European Union (EU).
12/07/2017 – Following the alarming evidence that EU-made electronic surveillance equipment is still being exported to authoritarian countries around the world, we strongly urge all EU member states and institutions to respect their human rights obligations and call on them to prioritise long overdue EU reforms.
12/07/2017 – The European Coalition for Corporate Justice (ECCJ), the WWF European Policy Office and Amnesty International welcome the European Commission’s Guidelines on Non-Financial Reporting (NFR). The Guidelines are, despite some shortcomings, a valuable guide to EU companies on complying with both the spirit and letter of the new EU legislation on disclosure of non-financial information. The EU Directive on Non-Financial Reporting, which Member States had to transpose by the end of 2016, requires certain EU companies to disclose information on their impact on society, human rights, environment and other areas.
Authorities already have an array of security, surveillance and counter-terrorism measures at their disposal. This would be a disproportionate attack on privacy and free expression.
Further to President Trump’s proposal to row back on reforms designed to curb irresponsible US business practices, Europe’s role in cleaning up the trade of conflict minerals is now more important than ever,
These volume thresholds, that exempt companies from complying with legislation, are dangerous loopholes
It would make a mockery of the system if 90% of importers are excluded from rules designed to prevent conflict minerals
The global market is rife with sinister equipment like leg chains and spike batons which can easily be turned into tools of torture. Introducing tighter EU restrictions on the sale, brokering and promotion of these devices will bring us a step closer to eradicating this shameful trade
Miner using mercury to sift gold from mud, Mwenga territory, South Kivu, April 2009. Mercury – a poisonous chemical – is being used to separate grains of gold from the surrounding mud by this artisanal miner. © AI/IPIS