cover image: TOXIC DOUBLE STANDARDS - How Europe sells products deemed too dangerous for

TOXIC DOUBLE STANDARDS - How Europe sells products deemed too dangerous for

25 Sep 2024

For the time being, the EU ignores the sustainability of goods that are produced in the EU for export to people in non-EU countries, violating the principle of Policy Coherence for Development enshrined in the EU treaties.2 1 Dorninger et al, 2021, Global patterns of ecologically unequal exchange: Implications for sustainability in the 21st century. [...] That is, they allow manufacturers based in the EU to produce unsafe toys as long as they will not be sold in the EU, putting children outside the EU at risk - running against the EU’s commitments to protect children’s health and uphold their rights globally.21 The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child recognises the rights of all children to have the best possible start in life, to grow up heal. [...] 19 Directive 2009/48/EC 20 European Commission, 2023, Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/48/EC 21 European Commission, The EU Strategy on the Rights of the Child and the European Child Guarantee 9 . [...] 22 European Commission, 2023, Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/48/EC 23 Marcos A Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur on toxics and human rights, 2020, Statement 24 European Commission, 2023, Proposal for a REGULATION OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND OF THE COUNCIL on the safety of toys and repealing Directive 2009/. [...] For instance, the EU Regulation prohibiting goods produced with forced labour is intended to apply not only to imports into the EU, but also to exports from the EU to non-EU countries.50 The EU Regulation on Mercury also bans not only the sale but also the manufacture and export of mercury and certain mercury-added products, such as toxic mercury-containing lamps.51 In order to address the loophol.

Authors

Isabelle Winkler

Pages
19
Published in
Belgium

Table of Contents