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Oxfam-Wereldwinkels vzw

OWW

Missie Oxfam Wereldwinkels is een beweging die strijdt tegen ongelijkheid en voor economische rechtvaardigheid. Dat doen we in woord en daad en met respect voor de grenzen van onze planeet. Zo zorgen we ervoor dat iedereen een menswaardig leven kan leiden en elk fundamenteel recht voluit kan uitoefenen. Visie Oxfam Wereldwinkels beoogt een wereld waarin alle mensen invloed hebben op de lokale en mondiale beslissingen waar ze de gevolgen van ondervinden. Zo willen we het huidig systeem dat ongelijkheid veroorzaakt structureel rechtvaardig maken. Vrouwen en meisjes staan centraal in onze strijd. Als deel van een wereldwijd beïnvloedingsnetwerk bundelen we de krachten om onze impact en invloed te vergroten. Door onze verankering in België, met lokale en nationale aanwezigheid gedragen door een brede vrijwilligersbeweging, verhogen we onze slagkracht en legitimiteit. Via het uitvoeren en promoten van eerlijke en duurzame handel en het versterken van de circulaire en so (...)

Lobbying Activity

Response to Control rules in organic production

26 Aug 2020

Article 1 | Amendments to Regulation (EU) 2018/848 As an extension on existing rules, we believe that producer training in organic production and related regulations should become a mandatory element of an Internal Control System. The knowledge of farmers on both organic practices and legislation are essential to avoid non-compliances. Annex VI Model of the Certificate We strongly believe that requiring to disclose a list of all names and addresses of all the members of a group of operators is not feasible nor necessary. Such a list would not be the ideal instrument to identify small-scale farmers. After all, many members might have the same name and surname. Additionally, in many regions in countries in the Global South it is not possible to provide an official or exact address beyond the name of the town the farmer is located in. On top of that, a certificate covering a group with 2000 members could require a lot of pages and would require an update every time a member leaves or enters the group. We therefore advise to use the wording “identification of the members”. The most important requirement is that the management of the group’s ICS and the Control Body or Control Authority have such an updated list ready and available.
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Response to Control rules in organic production

26 Aug 2020

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Response to Stepping up EU Action against Deforestation and Forest Degradation

15 Jan 2019

Various studies have shown the particular responsibility the EU has when it comes to countering this deforestation crisis. In the cocoa sector, for example, more than 60% of global cocoa goes through the EU. Therefore, the EU really holds a key position to push for change in this sector. The feasibility study that was published by the European Commission in 2018 clearly states that legislative measures are needed to create the biggest impact. Over the past two decades, a wide variety of sector wide and company-based voluntary initiatives have become common place in the cocoa sector. Sadly, the impact of these initiatives has been extremely low both for stopping the deforestation crisis as well as in tackling structural human rights violations such as child labor and the extreme poverty in which cocoa producers are trapped. On the contrary, in spite of the large number of sector driven initiatives, deforestation and human rights violations have increased during the last decade. The good news is that the disappointing results of sector wide voluntary initiatives have raised a lot of awareness within the sector that “business as usual is not an option”. In the Declaration of the 4th World Cocoa Conference in Berlin, the various actors in the cocoa sector recognized the need for due diligence measures, “including through potential regulatory measures by governments.” During a roundtable meeting on ‘Developing legally binding approaches to addressing child labor and deforestation in EU cocoa imports’ in the European Parliament on 21/11/2018, some of the biggest chocolate companies expressed their support for the need for legislation on due diligence at European level. They stress that only a level playing field can allow them to really meet the objectives of stopping deforestation and human rights violations. The lack of EU-wide legislation is currently preventing them from meeting their sustainability objectives. Moreover, companies consider EU-wide legislation as a way to ensure a harmonized approach across EU member states. Deforestation in the cocoa sector has increased alarmingly during the last decade. It is important to underline the fact that companies who buy cocoa should tackle the root causes of the systemic problems, as stipulated in the OECD Due Diligence Guidelines for Responsible Business Conduct. Therefore, the producers (and producer organizations) - who are the weakest link in the supply chain - should not have to bear the burden of complying with environmental and social standards. Rather, companies should comply with full traceability and transparency of their supply chains and guaranteeing living income to the producers. As a Belgian organization, we would also like to underline the call of the Belgian government addressed at the European Commission, on the occasion of the release of the Belgian Partnership for Sustainable Chocolate ‘Beyond Chocolate’ on December 5th 2018 - https://bit.ly/2RTFYKq "Minister of Development Cooperation, Digital Agenda, Telecoms and Post De Croo, Minister of Foreign Affairs and European Affairs Reynders and Minister of Energy, Environment and Sustainable Development Marghem invite the European Commission to create a "level playing field" on the basis of an ambitious European Action Plan for a sustainable cocoa sector that is concerned about human rights and the fight against deforestation and the degradation of forest areas. The three ministers want a European action plan to be put in place under the current mandate of the European Commission. The action plan should include due diligence procedures for the cocoa sector, which identify and reduce the risks associated with deforestation and human rights in the supply chain, including strategic options such as legislative proposals. The time has come, especially in the cocoa sector, to adopt legislation that addresses the causes of human rights violations and deforestation and the link between these two elements."
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Meeting with Kim-Tobias Eling (Cabinet of Commissioner Christos Stylianides)

25 Nov 2014 · Humanitarian Aid