31 October 2008
(Page 2 of 2)
Chevron operates in or near many communities in Nigeria and throughout the world. These communities often have not approved or even actively oppose Chevron's presence, and in some cases have suffered environmental and economic devastation due to Chevron's oil production. Chevron pays lip service to supporting the communities where they work. But the truth is that they do very little to "support" these communities and virtually nothing to compensate the communities they have harmed. In 2007, Chevron's total support for the communities where they work worldwide was approximately two days' of the oil giant's profits.
Two days. And when Nigerian villagers protest Chevron's extraction of profits and destruction of their communities, Chevron relies on the brutal Nigerian police and military to suppress dissent.
With billions of dollars in quarterly profits, Chevron can take a number of reasonable steps to fulfill its responsibilities to the affected communities in Nigeria, in addition to compensating those harmed by its past actions. These steps should include both remediating the environmental and economic harms it causes and stopping future abuses against protestors by the Nigerian military.
1. Direct Support for the Communities
The Ilaje people who demonstrated at the Parabe platform in 1998 did so in reaction to Chevron's failure to meet a number of specific demands, many of which are still applicable today, including :
Rehabilitate the environment around their communities, including by restoring a natural land barrier which kept sea water from intruding into creeks that local people depend on for fishing and drinking water, by reforesting mangroves, palms and other economic trees, and dredging sea-related sludge out of river.
Create job skills for local people by training them to assist in the clean up and environmental rehabilitation.
Complete and follow environmental impact assessments before expanding current operations in any way.
Install electricity in the riverine communities.
Build and provide appropriate staffing & supplies for a hospital, including funding for ongoing operations.
Provide potable water within 15 minutes' paddle of each of the affected communities.
Train and employ people from each of the affected communities in real jobs, where they learn transferable skills.
Build and provide ongoing funding for schools and teachers in the affected communities.
Quadruple the annual scholarships provided to the affected communities.
2. Increase Transparency and Accountability for Human Rights Abuses
In litigation in California state court, Mr. Bowoto is asking for an order requiring Chevron U.S. to make a number of specific steps toward transparency and accountability aimed at discouraging Chevron from using the Nigerian police and military to attack and intimidate local communities. These include:
Mandate documenting and reporting of incidents where Chevron has paid or supported Nigerian military and police who have committed or are accused of committing human rights abuses and/or using excessive force, including all incidents in which Nigerian residents are accused of suffering physical injuries as a result.
This includes reporting of the incidents themselves as well as all steps taken to investigate, to reprimand those involved within Chevron Nigeria and/or the Nigerian police and military, and to remedy any harm or damage caused. These reports must be made publicly available, including on Chevron's website within 7 days of any reported incident and supplemented thereafter as any investigation and remedial steps occur.
Require Chevron to investigate all alleged incidents of human rights abuses within 5 days and if the allegations are substantiated, take steps to immediately remove any Nigerian police or military implicated from any further use, payment or support by Chevron Nigeria, as well as implement any other remedies or changes indicated by the investigation as reasonably likely to prevent future incidents.
Require Chevron U.S. to assess human rights policies as part of evaluating Chevron Nigeria's managing director and as part of any other evaluations done of Chevron Nigeria's personnel as part of promotion or advancement within any Chevron company. The company must also include a similar human rights assessment as part of yearly security audits of Chevron Nigeria.
Ensure that Chevron's accounting records clearly reflect any payment or the provision of logistical support to the Nigerian military or police.
Mandate a new security review by objective third party experts of Chevron's operations in Nigeria to determine whether it is practicable to secure Chevron's facilities and personnel in Nigeria without paying or providing logistical support to the Nigerian military and police and to recommend procedures to lessen the likelihood of human rights abuses and the use of excessive force.
Require Chevron to report on its website within five days of any action taken by Chevron Nigeria that the company knows, through it's own environmental impact studies or otherwise, is or is likely to negatively impact the local environment for any Nigerian community.
Media Availability
Landmark Human Rights Case Bowoto V. Chevron Begins in Federal Court
Environmental and Human Rights Activists Available to Comment
October 28, 2008
Contact
New York, Riptide Communications: David Lerner,
dlerner@riptideonline.com or Sara Koenig,
skoenig@riptideonline.com 212-260-5000
San Francisco, Full Court Press: Jordan Pierce,
jordan@fcpcommunications.com 510-550-8176; mobile, 510-593-5785
October 28, 2008, San Francisco, CA - In opening statements heard today in U.S. District Court for the landmark case, Bowoto v.
Chevron, the oil giant, which stands accused of wrongful death, torture and cruel treatment, continued to repeat unfounded allegations while denying its complicity in severe human rights abuses. Chevron is charged with paying the Nigerian military to shoot, torture and kill peaceful protestors in an incident that took place on the offshore Parabe drilling platform over ten years ago. In 1998, lead plaintiff Larry Bowoto and more than 100 members of the local Ilaje fishing communities went to the oil platform to protest the environmental damage and economic disruption Chevron's oil production activities had brought to their homes in the Niger Delta. While Chevron's own memos state that the protestors were peaceful, the multinational went to court with contradictory statements.
Paul Donowitz, EarthRights International's Campaigns Coordinator is available for interview and issued the following statement:
"The protestors on the Parabe oil platform were unarmed and peaceful, a fact confirmed by Chevron's own internal documents.
These protestors were merely seeking redress for the devastating environmental and economic harm caused by Chevron's destructive practices in the Niger Delta. Chevron's response in 1998 was to transport, closely supervise, and pay the brutal Nigerian "kill and go" military, who shot unarmed villagers. Their response today is no less brutal - using lies, distortions and outright fabrications, Chevron is attempting to deceive the public and obscure the truth about their operations in Nigeria."
AfricaFocus Bulletin is an independent electronic publication providing reposted commentary and analysis on African issues, with a particular focus on U.S. and international policies.
AfricaFocus Bulletin is edited by William Minter.
AfricaFocus Bulletin can be reached at africafocus@igc.org.
Please write to this address to subscribe or unsubscribe to the bulletin or to suggest material for inclusion. For more information about reposted material, please contact directly the original source mentioned. For a full archive and other resources, see http://www.africafocus.org
Be the first to Write a Comment!
Copyright © 2008 AfricaFocus. All rights reserved. Distributed by AllAfrica Global Media (allAfrica.com). To contact the copyright holder directly for corrections — or for permission to republish or make other authorized use of this material, click here.
AllAfrica aggregates and indexes content from over 125 African news organizations, plus more than 200 other sources, who are responsible for their own reporting and views. Articles and commentaries that identify allAfrica.com as the publisher are produced or commissioned by AllAfrica.
