Can European Parliament make ICT fair?
On the morning of the 1 October, the Make ICT Fair consortium held a breakfast event at the European Parliament in Brussels attended by around thirty participants. The event was hosted by Austrian MEP Monika Vana of the Greens/EFA and Swedish MEP Abir Al-Sahlani of Renew Europe in the Members Salon of the Parliament.
1 October 2019
The breakfast was organised to raise awareness of sustainability and human rights abuses in the supply chain of information communication technology (ICT) products, as well as facilitate the discussion on the role of MEPs in promoting EU policies on human rights, European development banks and public procurement.
MEP Abir Al-Sahlani said: “Our societies have benefited greatly from globalisation. But it is important to raise awareness of human rights risks associated with the production of some of the most popular products that many of us enjoy- like smartphones. People should never be in danger when doing their jobs.”
The breakfast began with a video testimonial addressed to MEPs from Pak Kin Wan, a worker in the Labour Education and Service Network in Hong Kong, and a speech by Anna Shahnazaryan who works in Armenia and had experienced first-hand the violations to human rights. Following this, speakers from SETEM, Bankwatch and ICLEI gave talks on the priority EU areas of action: business and human rights, European development banks and public procurement.
Make ICT Fair participant organisations presented the MEPs with a list of case studies conducted by members of the consortium, as well as a briefing document outlining the key actions MEPs can take to ensure the implementation of fair and sustainable EU policies on the priority areas.
Participants could upload photos and footage using the hashtag #MakeICTFair and #fairelectronics on social media.
For more information contact the lead project researcher Linda Scott Jakobsson at linda@swedwatch.org.
Notes
Make ICT Fair is an EU-wide project that aims to improve the lives of workers and communities affected by the production of ICT devices such as smartphones and laptops. We target EU citizens, public procurers, development banks, decision-makers, and companies to improve their purchasing practices and to align policies. The partners: SETEM Catalunya, CATAPA, ICLEI, the University of Edinburgh, Le Monde Diplomatique, People & Planet, CEE Bankwatch, Swedwatch, Electronics Watch, Towards Sustainability Association, and Südwind.
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