News archive

  • Reality Uncorked: New Swedwatch report highlights human rights issues in state-owned Systembolaget´s wine supply chain and calls for strengthened sustainability efforts

    The new Swedwatch report, based on interviews conducted at four farms in the Western Cape in South Africa by Swedwatch's project partner ILRIG (The International Labour Research and Information Group), reveals pressing human rights violations, including harassment and threats, and health issues resulting from pesticide exposure – and urges state-owned wine retailers such as Systembolaget to conduc

  • Swedwatch´s annual report – Highlights for 2023

    The EU directive on corporate responsibility for human rights and the environment (CSDDD), the responsibility of companies with operations in conflict areas, the importance of sustainable public procurement, and the numerous challenges in the textile industry were among the topics that Swedwatch addressed during 2023.
    In Highlights 2023, presented digitally this year, Swedwatch highlights some

  • A law regulating corporate responsibility for human rights is feasible – and in demand

    Concerned about Sweden's intention to vote against the Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive and misleading comments made by the minister in charge, Swedwatch, Fairtrade Sweden, the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation, Oxfam Sweden and ForumCiv released a joint statement to set the record straight.
    Download the full statement (in Swedish).According to Brussels sources, Sweden may

  • New president in Liberia – 10 % of the country’s land mass is conceded to a company from the UAE

    Liberia's new president Joseph Boakai takes office this week after a historic peaceful election in November 2023. He wants to tackle corruption and review land concessions in the mining industry. At the same time, the company Blue Carbon LLC from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for huge forest land concessions for carbon credits in Africa, including i

  • Swedwatch welcomes landmark trial against Lundin Oil executives


    The 5th of September marks a historic day as the trial against two former executives of oil company Lundin Oil, today Orrön Energy, begins. The executives are accused of complicity in grave war crimes in Sudan from 1999 to 2003. Meanwhile, an OECD-led mediation process relating to the sale of major Lundin assets is ongoing in Norway, a process in which Swedwatch is taking part.
    Ian Lundin

  • Swedwatch: Updated OECD Guidelines demand more from companies

    Today an updated version of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises, adopted by OECD member countries, has been published. It has been over ten years since the last update, and the guidelines now place stronger requirements on companies on several areas, including the environment and climate. The new guidelines are welcomed by Swedwatch, which has contributed to provide input on their co

  • Swedwatch´s annual report – highlighs for 2022

    The responsibility of companies to uphold human rights when sponsoring big sporting events, expectations on duty bearers to safeguard the right to a healthy environment and the role of business in sustaining peace in Liberia and Sierra Leone, were among the topics researched by Swedwatch in 2022.
    In Swedwatch´s annual report, Highlights 2022, Swedwatch presents some of its main activities and r

  • Joint statement: AFRY’s decision to leave Myanmar welcome but concerns remain

    The Swedish engineering firm AFRY has announced its intention to withdraw from Myanmar, where it has been involved in controversial hydropower projects for over two decades. The undersigned organisations welcome the move to stop doing business with the military junta but remain deeply concerned about AFRY’s delayed response and failure to realise the gravity of its dealings with the Myanmar milita

  • EU must urgently review its outdated policy on export credits

    Despite promises to make financial flows consistent with a low-carbon economy, EU member states continue to provide financial support to the fossil fuel industry through export credits. It is time that the EU Commission replaces its outdated policy with new and ambitious regulation, prohibiting export support to oil and gas, says Swedwatch in a policy paper published today.
    -Export credit agenc

  • New EU law on corporate due diligence must cover the full value chain

    n a new policy paper, Swedwatch together with SOMO (Centre for Research on Multinational Corporations), ECCHR (European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights), OECD Watch and ECCJ (European Coalition for Corporate Justice) call on EU lawmakers to include downstream due diligence obligations in the upcoming Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence Directive (CSDDD), drawing on multiple case stud

  • Swedwatch endorse proposal for the OECD to end export finance support for oil and gas

    One week before international negotiators meet at the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in Paris to discuss aligning export finance with international climate goals, Swedwatch together with more than 175 civil society organizations (CSOs) from over 45 countries have released a Joint Position calling on world leaders to end OECD export finance for oil and gas.
    -While

  • Swedwatch’s 10 key considerations to enhance socially sustainable public procurement

    Strengthen the EU public procurement directive from 2014 and make it mandatory to enforce human rights requirements in public contracts - Swedwatch has identified 10 key considerations that carry opportunities to enhance public procurement as a tool to mitigate and prevent human rights and environmental impacts in public sector supply chains.
    The economic value of public procurement - more than

Show more
Enter your email address to follow Swedwatch

When you choose to create a user account and follow a newsroom your personal data will be used by us and the owner of the newsroom, for you to receive news and updates according to your subscription settings.

To learn more about this, please read our Privacy Policy, which applies to our use of your personal data, and our Privacy Policy for Contacts, which applies to the use of your personal data by the owner of the newsroom you follow.

Please note that our Terms of Use apply to all use of our services.

You can withdraw your consent at any time by unsubscribing or deleting your account.
Check your inbox

Email sent to __email__. Click the link there to follow Swedwatch.

Okay