On Monday morning, Shell’s “Grassroots Employee Empowerment Division” emailed 71,900 employees. But that division doesn’t exist.
human rights
Shell Should be Guilty Again
Although the BP / Deepwater Horizon trial maybe hogging the headlines, another courtroom battle is equally intriguing and important. It is almost 3 years since the trial of Wiwa versus Shell settled for $15.5 million on the eve of the trial. Along with the Wiwa action, there was a parallel legal case, Kiobel Versus Shell, … Read More
Nigeria: Shell’s New Human Rights Abuses
Often the story of Shell’s atrocities in Nigeria has focused on its complicity in the death of the Ogoni Ken Saro-Wiwa, or the human rights abuses that were committed in the mid-nineties. But now a great new report from the oil industry watch-dog Platform, and published in coalition with a number of NGOs, has looked … Read More
Court rules companies can’t be sued under Alien Tort
This is bad news, which could have serious ramifications for holding companies legally accountable in the US for their operations abroad. And it has virtually received no press attention at all. Last Friday the Second U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed a suit brought by the Ogoni, who alleged that Shell was complicit in human … Read More
Chevron in the Dock Again
Big Oil company Chevron may have hoped that its legal troubles as far as Nigeria were over. However, in a great victory for human rights campaigners, the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco has fixed June 14, 2010 to open appeal hearings in the case.
Burma’s $5 Billion Blood Money
A major two- year investigation by EarthRights International has found further, compelling evidence linking oil giants Total and Chevron to forced labour, killings, and high-level corruption in Burma. The important report, called Total Impact, documents how Total and Chevron’s highly controversial Yadana gas project has generated just under $5 billion for the ruthless military junta … Read More
The Struggle Continues…
“I’ll tell you this, I may be dead but my ideas will not die.” –Ken Saro-Wiwa 1995 Twelve years ago today, on November 10, 1995, after 17 months in custody, and a trial that was universally condemned as being a sham, Ken Saro-Wiwa and eight other Ogoni activists were hanged in Port Harcourt, Nigeria. Their … Read More
BP: Back to Profit
Well it was on the cards that with a change in leadership came a change in direction. Tony Hayward, chief executive of BP, is planning a cultural shift at BP by playing down Lord Browne’s emphasis on the environment and refocus BP on profit. Mr Hayward and other directors have discussed the corporate mantra “Beyond … Read More
“Three Billion Reasons For Bush to Take Action on Climate Change at G8”
Archbishop Desmond Tutu, scholar and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, makes a passionate call for G8 action on global warming in today’s Huffington Post. “I can think of three billion reasons why President Bush should agree to take action on climate change at this week’s G8 Summit in Heiligendamm, Germany, one for every person in the … Read More
More Oil Investment In Burma
Although the United States and EU have imposed economic sanctions on Burma (Myanmar) in recent years as a result its appalling human rights record, this has not stopped oil companies investing in the country. Two little-known foreign companies have signed a deal for offshore oil and gas exploration with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas … Read More