Amnesty International has expressed concerns that Shell’s planned sales of its operations in the Niger Delta region could worsen human rights abuses in the area.
It urged the federal government of Nigeria to ensure that in divesting, the oil multinational should not further deteriorate human rights in a region that has suffered decades of oil pollution.
Amnesty International’s Head of Business and Human Rights, Mark Dummett, made the call in Port Harcourt while presenting a report on “Tainted Sale? Why Shell’s Divestment from the Niger Delta Must Not Harm Human Rights”
Dummett advised the government to ensure the divestment does not limit Shell’s liabilities without a full investigation into and remediation of all existing pollution, the maintenance and repair of existing pipelines, and the protection of pipelines from sabotage.
AI’s report is coming on the heels of similar concerns earlier expressed by several human and environmental rights groups in the region on the need for careful implementation of the divestment process to avoid abandonment of liabilities by divesting companies.
Presenting the report, Dummet stated, “Amnesty International has documented grievous and enduring human rights abuses resulting from oil contamination in the area, where Shell has operated since the 1950s. Amnesty International is concerned that the proposed sale will deny people already harmed access to adequate remedy and potentially expose many more to future abuses.”
The report recommended a series of safeguards and actions to help protect the rights of people potentially affected by Shell’s planned disposal of its onshore oil interest in the Niger Delta, reportedly for about US$3 billion.
Dummett further noted, “For decades, spills have damaged the health and livelihoods of many of the Niger Delta’s inhabitants.”
“Shell should not be allowed to wash its hands off the problems and leave. Shell has earned billions of dollars from this business, and it must make sure that its withdrawal does not have negative human rights and environmental consequences.”
“Government should consider requiring Shell to act as guarantor to ensure any purchaser is capable of making good and remediating damage caused by any future spills and that any buyer is committed to transparency, environmental compliance, consultations with communities, and limiting greenhouse gas emissions.
“By exercising appropriate oversight of Shell’s sale, Nigeria’s incoming administration has a unique opportunity to demonstrate its determination to upload and protect the human rights of its citizens, including their rights to an adequate standard of living, clean water, and health. We are also calling for an effective remedy for people whose rights have long been abused”, the report stressed.
Dummett noted, however, that Shell is not uniquely responsible for the devastating oil pollution that has blighted the Niger Delta but added that other actors in the devastation include federal and state authorities.
He declared, “They too have the obligation to ensure that Shell’s divestment does not lead to further human rights harm.”
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