Business and Human Rights

Shell has manipulated oil spill investigations in Nigeria, with the company’s claims on oil pollution in the region deeply suspect and often untrue, said Amnesty International and the Centre for Environment, Human Rights and Development (CEHRD).
 

A new report published today uncovers specific cases in which Shell has wrongly reported the cause of oil spills, the volume of oil spilt, or the extent and adequacy of clean up measures.

“Shell is being disingenuous about the devastation caused by its Niger Delta operations. This new evidence shows that Shell’s claims about the oil spills cannot be trusted,” said Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Issues at Amnesty International.

New analysis from an independent expert found that so-called official investigation reports into the cause of oil spills in the Niger Delta can be “very subjective, misleading and downright false.”

The report highlights systemic weaknesses in the way the cause of a spill and the volume are determined – with some significant errors in the volumes that are recorded as spilt.

By Audrey Gaughran, Director of Global Thematic Issues at Amnesty International

There are currently two competing narratives about oil pollution in the Niger Delta.

The first is that oil companies, particularly Shell, are responsible for massive pollution caused by leaks from their operations and for the failure to clean up spills and protect their infrastructure from damage.

This narrative acknowledges that oil theft and sabotage of oil infrastructure occur and contribute to pollution; however it cautions that theft and sabotage, as causes of pollution, are over-stated by oil companies in a bid to deflect criticism about their environmental impact.

The second narrative claims that almost all spills are caused by oil theft and sabotage and that companies are doing their best to combat this scourge. It goes on to say that the failure to clean up properly is generally due to the communities not letting the oil companies into the area to do the cleanup.

Authorities in the Indian state of Odisha (previously Orissa) are excluding Adivasi (indigenous) communities from the process to decide the future of a proposed mining project that could have disastrous effects on their livelihood and traditional lands, Amnesty International said.

The controversial mining plans – a joint venture between Sterlite India, a subsidiary of the UK-based mining giant Vedanta Resources, and the Odisha Mining Corporation – would affect the traditional lands of Adivasi communities in the Niyamgiri hills region, which they depend on for food, water and their way of life.

A decision-making process on the project facilitated by the Odisha authorities, which starts next week, would exclude many villages, with only 12 of the 100-odd villages in the region included – an approach that fails to comply with a landmark Supreme Court ruling on the issue, and a subsequent communiqué from India’s central Ministry of Tribal Affairs.

Chinese mining companies operating in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) need to do more to prevent their operations from leading to human rights abuses, Amnesty International warned today in a new report.

Profits and Loss: Mining and human rights in Katanga, examines the impact of the mining industry in south-eastern DRC. 

The report documents a number of serious abuses involving local and foreign companies including forced evictions – illegal under international law – and dangerous and exploitative working conditions.

The report pays particular attention to the role of Chinese companies, which are on course to become the most influential and powerful foreign economic actors in the extractive sector in the DRC – a country with some of the world’s most important mineral reserves.

China also imports significant amounts of cobalt and copper from the DRC, much of which continues to be extracted by small-scale miners – also known as artisanal miners – using handheld tools, and often working in terrible conditions.

Ottawa, June 13, 2013 –  Canadian civil society organizations that have worked together for the adoption of mandatory corporate accountability measures for almost a decade, join together to welcome Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s announcement in London yesterday that Canada will be establishing new mandatory reporting standards for Canadian extractive companies.

This is the first time the Prime Minister has voiced support for mandatory reporting in Canada on the international operations of Canadian mining, oil and gas companies. Amnesty International, Halifax Initiative, InterPares, KAIROS Canada, MiningWatch Canada and the United Steelworkers are encouraged by this step forward.

“This is welcome news,” said Fiona Koza, Business and Human Rights Campaigner with Amnesty International. “For years we have been urging the Government of Canada to move beyond mere voluntary measures.”

Reports that members of Sudan's security forces were involved in January attacks that left up to 200 people dead near a goldmine in Darfur must urgently be investigated, Amnesty International said today.

Fighting broke out on 5 January between members of Beni Hussein, an Arab tribe that lives locally and the pastoralist Rizeigat community, when a Rizeigat leader, who is also an officer in Sudan’s Border Guard, reportedly laid claim to a gold-rich area in Beni Hussein territory.

Gunmen driving government vehicles are alleged to have opened fire on people in the the mostly Beni Hussein area of Kebkabiya using grenades and heavy machine guns. While many among the local population own automatic rifles, heavier weaponry of the sort used in these attacks is not normally available to civilians.

"The Sudanese government should immediately investigate the reports that its security officers are involved in attacks against civilians and ensure they are not involved in any further attacks," said Audrey Gaughran, Amnesty International's Africa director.

Shell’s investors are facing a tougher international legal environment that is likely to have a dramatic impact on its balance sheet as claims mount from its activities in the Niger Delta, according to a new independent report from specialists at the University of Essex.

The potential liabilities range from sizeable damages for failures to take adequate steps to prevent and clean up oil spills, through to liabilities under USA and European stock exchange rules. 

Responding to the report, Peter Frankental, Economic Relations Progamme Director of Amnesty International UK, said:

“Amnesty International welcomes the findings of today’s independent report. It draws attention to Shell’s precarious legal position arising from its appalling impacts in the Niger Delta and brings closer the day when the company will be held accountable.

“Large parts of the Niger Delta, home to more than 30 million people, have become a polluted wasteland due to the activities of oil companies.