Kate Allen of Amnesty International UK writes in The Guardian today, highlighting the human rights impacts of Shell’s pollution in the Niger Delta.
If the oil giant truly wants reconciliation in the Niger Delta, its incoming CEO must take concrete actionA new chief executive takes the helm at Shell today. Peter Voser will preside over a company which generated about $458bn revenue in 2008 and has operations in more than 100 countries, and at a time when the oil industry has never been under more scrutiny. A Shell man since 1982 and said to be a “safe pair of hands”, Voser will be remunerated to the tune of more than £3m. At Amnesty we hope a concerted effort to turn around Shell’s appalling reputation in the Niger Delta will be at the top of the agenda of the first board meeting he leads. Continue reading
The Independent also covered Amnesty International’s new report which holds Shell and the Nigerian government responsible for pollution that has led to a ‘human rights tragedy’ in the Niger Delta. Richard Howden wrote:
Oil giant Shell has been covering up catastrophic oil spills in the Niger Delta by blaming them on sabotage by local people, according to a leading human rights group. Read more
Shell and other companies have exploited the fact that local people lack the resources to hold oil giants to account. Pollution deepens poverty, drives conflict and no amount of clean-up pledges from Shell can substitute real action.