SOMO news - October 2009

14-10-2009

In this newsletter:

In brief
Win a copy of the book ‘Het onzichtbare label’
Trade accord worsens economic crisis
Tele-2 offers least fair mobile telephones
Pfizer denies responsibility in Trovan case
Procure IT Fair launches company monitor
OECD open to modifications of guidelines
New publications

In brief

Activists and campaigners demand turnaround in EPA negotiations. More >
CSR Platform and SOMO organise 'Investments & corporate accountability in Africa' More >
Zembla TV on 18 October on the Netherlands as a tax haven, with Tax Justice NL
Shell is not taking the OECD guidelines seriously in the Philippines. More >
Comments SOMOs makeITfair campaign on a reaction by Nokia. More >

Win a copy of the book ‘Het onzichtbare label’

This new Dutch book that SOMO has published, together with KIT Publishers, leads the reader through the maze of environmental issues and human rights abuses which exist in international production and trade. It challenges companies, governments and citizens to trade sustainably. Available in bookshops. SOMO is giving way 2 copies for free. To take part in the draw, send an email to communication@somo.nl before 30 October.
Read more (in Dutch) >

Trade accord worsens economic crisis

G20 leaders do not realise that further liberalisation of financial services will actually make the world economy less stable. SOMO pointed this out in a letter published in the Dutch newspaper NRC, in the context of the G20 summit in Pittsburg. SOMO also sent a letter with recommendations to Prime Minister Balkenende and wrote a number of publications to show that, in response to the crisis, it is actually crucially important that countries can exercise control of the financial markets.
Read more >

Fair Phones: it’s your call

This new makeITfair report published in September reveals that mobile telephone providers are contributing to the increase in electronic waste (e-waste) and are doing little to improve the poor conditions in which mobile phones are manufactured. SOMO and makeITfair advise the companies to promote recycling much more actively, as well as the use of a SIM-only contract, and to focus their influence on improving the situation in the chain.
Read more >

Pfizer denies responsibility in Trovan case

Pharmaceutical company Pfizer announced in August that it would be spending €53 million on out-of-court settlements of court cases relating to a controversial drug test in Nigeria. Of the 200 Nigerian children who took part in a test with the experimental antibiotic Trovan, eleven died. "It's a shame that Pfizer continues to deny responsibility," says Annelies den Boer of Wemos, which has been following this issue for some time. SOMO research showed that Pfizer had been seriously deficient in the test.
Read more >

Procure IT Fair launches company monitor

This new online tool publishes news items available online that deal with the environment, working conditions and human rights throughout the supply chains of the large computer brands. By providing a selection of news items on the companies, the tool is the next step for Procure It Fair’s goal of sustainable public procurement of IT hardware. SOMO is one of the coordinators of this campaign.
Read more >

OECD open to modifications of guidelines

During the annual Ministerial Council Meeting of the OECD in June of this year, OECD Watch argued in an open letter for a review of the 10-year-old OECD guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. The purpose of this is to arrive at an effective instrument for responsible behaviour between companies worldwide. The Ministerial Council stated during the meeting that it is open to further discussion of an update of the guidelines.
Read more >

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