An overview of recent lobby statements by SOMO.
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European Union: rules for batteries should cover bauxite, copper, iron
The European Union’s proposed batteries regulation should require importers and manufacturers to source the bauxite, copper, and iron used in batteries responsibly, a coalition of 16 organizations said today. The coalition includes Amnesty International, Earthworks,…
European Parliament approval of draft Batteries Regulation is a welcome step towards just energy transition
SOMO and GoodElectronics welcome the EU draft legislation on batteries approved on Thursday by the European Parliament and call on EU member states to agree on the text without delays or attempts to water it…
Creating a digital level playing field
A handful of tech companies have become global gatekeepers to the modern world. Companies including Google, Facebook, Apple and Microsoft set the terms of communication for billions of internet users and have a sphere of…
Clothing brands allegedly complicit in forced labour in Xinjiang
Human rights organisation ECCHR and Dutch law firm Prakken d’Oliveira have petitioned the Dutch Public Prosecutor to launch a criminal investigation into garment companies for complicity in the exploitation and enslavement of Uighurs in the…
SOMO and Both ENDS condemn violence against Indigenous community near the Barro Blanco dam in Panama
Members of the Indigenous Ngäbe Buglé people were brutally attacked by Panamanian police on Friday 29 October 2021 on a parcel of private land near the FMO-financed Barro Blanco hydroelectric dam. The victims, all members…
EU: Don’t limit Indonesian access to medicine
In this letter, SOMO – together with a group of NGOs – urge the European Commission to drop provisions that protect intellectual property in the economic agreement (CEPA) between Indonesia-EU. They fear that the so…
SOMO’s recommendation for HERA – the new European centre for cross-border health threats
SOMO, together with a broad coalition, have sent a letter to health attachés and to the Health Commissioner of the European Union urging them to reconsider crucial aspects of the recently launched Health Emergency Preparedness…
Declaration on mining and the energy transition ahead of COP26
SOMO and 140 other organisations support a just and rapid transition away from fossil fuels and towards a renewable energy system. However, we are concerned about the impacts of extracting minerals, such as lithium, cobalt,…
SOMO condemns Israel’s designation of Al-Haq and other human rights groups as “terrorist organisations”
Last week, the Israeli Defense Ministry declared six Palestinian civil society organisations in the Occupied Palestinian Territory (OPT) to be “terrorist organisations”. One of the organisations affected by the decision is SOMO’s long-standing partner Al-Haq,…
Apply Open Data Principles in EU legislation on corporate reporting
Current corporate sustainability reporting is badly flawed as open data principles are not applied. SOMO supports the call on the EU Commission and the European Parliament to make sure that stakeholder access, interoperability and collaboration…