When we put an end to corporate human rights abuses, I will rejoice

The EU has recently adopted a bill regarding corporate responsibility for human rights and the environment, but the bill is not enough to be able to change the rules of the game, says Hanna Nelson, policy manager at Oxfam Sweden and advisor to the think tank Global Challenge. Pictured: Female tea pickers in Assam, India. Photo: Roanna Rahman.

Of: Hannah Nelson

“The critical tone does not work here in Sweden. This is actually something positive, something historical. ” These are comments that have landed in my inbox since the European Commission presented its bill on corporate responsibility for human rights and the environment. But the law that would protect human rights for workers around the world is now proposed to apply only to 1 percent of companies. Why should we rejoice then? It writes Hanna Nelson, policy manager at Oxfam Sweden and advisor to the think tank Global Challenge.

April 4, 2022, Guest chronicle

Human rights activist Sultana: "Western Sahara must be free"

Western Saharan activist Sultana has had her eye removed as she protests against the Moroccan occupation of Western Sahara. This is what Lena Thunberg, editor of Tidskriften Västsahara, writes in a guest column. Photo: Jan Strömdahl.

Of: Lena Thunberg

Western Saharan human rights activist Sultana Khaya has been under house arrest for more than a year in Morocco-occupied Western Sahara. Her crime? She waves the flag of Western Sahara. This is what Lena Thunberg, editor of Tidskriften Västsahara, writes in a guest column.

March 31, 2022, Guest chronicle

We do not buy ourselves into a sustainable world

On Kungsgatan, one of Gothenburg's most popular shopping streets, shopping people often meet recruiters from various organizations. Photo: News Øresund / Jenny Andersson. Source: Flickr.

Of: Agnes Von Unge

Today, non-profit organizations often use member recruiters in the city to raise money for their businesses. At the same time, the change needed in the consumer society requires that organizations also change their fundraising strategies.

March 10, 2022, Chronicle

This is how we Swedes can protect the Amazon and support its environmental fighters

Last year, the devastation of the Amazon in Brazil increased by 22 percent compared to 2020. This is the highest annual deforestation in 15 years. Photo: quapan. Source: flickr.

Of: Ebba Eriksson

The destruction of the Amazon, the lungs of the earth, threatens biodiversity as well as the rights and lives of indigenous peoples. Alarming reports of deforestation of an area as large as France and images of burning primeval forest arouse strong feelings in many and a desire to be able to help - and we in Sweden can be involved and influence.

March 1, 2022, Chronicle

Functional law is a necessity in climate work

People with disabilities have a special vulnerability to increased climate change, according to the organization MyRight. Pictured: a wheelchair on the ground in Kathmandu, Nepal. Photo: MyRight.

Of: MyRight

People with disabilities are almost never included in the work for a better climate, nor do they receive information about climate change in available formats. Without information, it is difficult to be involved and change. It writes MyRight, the Swedish disability movement's organization for international development cooperation.

January 31, 2022, Guest chronicle

Who will scoop and who will row?

Rising sea levels make the island nation of Kiribati one of the countries in the world most exposed to climate change. Photo: United Nations Photo. Source: Flickr.

Of: Sofia Johnson

We waited a long time for the international climate summit in Glasgow, the summit that would lead the way to a sustainable society. But now afterwards, when I sit on my bike in the rain, it feels like I'm the only one who cares, why is that? It writes sustainability specialist Sofia Jonson.

January 18, 2022, Guest chronicle

That is why many Palestinians do not believe in a two-state solution

Two police officers arrest a 14-year-old boy despite being in a grocery store during a clash between Palestinians and Israeli police. Photo: Carl Bradshaw.

Of: Carl Bradshaw

How long should one stick to a strategy that overturns rather than helps? Among Palestinians in the West Bank, few believe in a two-state solution, and the Oslo Accords are seen as a tool for Israeli annexation rather than peace.

January 14, 2022, Guest chronicle

Peace begins with meeting as human beings

Israeli settler Rabbi Hanan Schlesinger (left) and Palestinian peace activist Khaled Abu Awwad (right) share a vision to bring more people together. Photo: Ebba Åkerman.

Of: Ebba Åkerman

"Go home as a strong supporter of Palestine. Go home as a strong supporter of Israel. Go home as a strong supporter for a solution. To support both peoples is to support peace ”. The call comes from Rabbi Schlesinger - a former New York resident, Israeli settler, peace activist and co-founder of the organization Roots.

January 13, 2022, Guest chronicle

When will Palestinian children be able to go to school in peace and security?

The children at the school between the villages of as-Sawyia and al-Lubban ash-Sharqiya, the West Bank, meet heavily armed soldiers on the way to school every day. This is what such a day can look like. Photo: Fanny Lingqvist.

Of: Fanny Lingqvist

Every day when the children go to school along the highway, they are met by heavily armed soldiers. Some days the soldiers aim their weapons at the children, other days they block the way to school. On particularly bad days, children are arrested and abducted in military vehicles, often in front of their schoolmates or family members who are desperately trying to get them released.

January 11, 2022, Guest chronicle

Hunger is used as a weapon in conflict

In the Tigray region of Ethiopia, soldiers and rebels are accused of actively starving the population. Photo: Rod Waddington. Source: Flickr.

Of: Sigrid Wernersson

The number of people living on the brink of starvation is increasing drastically in the world. At the same time, hunger and starvation by civilians are used as weapons in warfare, including in the Ethiopian region of Tigray. The link between armed conflict and hunger has been highlighted by international organizations in recent years, but a new view of food as a right is needed to truly eradicate world hunger.

December 23, 2021, Chronicle