[sustran] Nigeria: An apology from Royal Dutch Shell
Todd Edelman, Green Idea Factory
edelman at greenidea.eu
Thu Apr 1 17:04:01 JST 2010
*Nigeria: An apology from Royal Dutch Shell - please see links below for
full details*
/The Hague, 27 March 2010/
Today, Royal Dutch Shell is holding back the tears no more. Shell
apologises to all inhabitants of Nigeria's Niger Delta for the many
years of human rights violations, for which Shell takes full responsibility.
Confronted with massive evidence of human rights violations that can
only be attributed to its operations in the Niger Delta, Royal Dutch
Shell is extremely proud to be the first international petrochemical
company to publicly say:
*We are sorry.*
Since Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 1956, the company
has ravished the land and polluted the environment. "We thought these
people didn't know what was good for them," explains Bradford Houppe,
Vice-President of Shell's newly established Ethical Affairs Committee.
"We never knew that we were bringing them impoverishment, conflict,
abuse and deprivation. Now we know." Shell acknowledges that it is
responsible for large-scale oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring.
Each year, hundreds of oil spills occur, many of which are caused by
corrosion of oil pipes and poor maintenance of infrastructure. "Our
failure to deal with these spills swiftly and the lack of effective
clean-up greatly exacerbate their human rights and environmental
impact," says Houppe. "And that is wrong. It's just really wrong."
More than 60 per cent of the people in the Niger Delta depend on the
natural environment for their livelihood. But due to the oil pollution,
many of them use polluted water to drink and to cook and wash with, and
eat fish contaminated with oil and other toxins. Oil spills and waste
dumping have also seriously damaged agricultural land.
The destruction of livelihoods and the lack of redress have led people
to steal oil and vandalise oil infrastructure in an attempt to gain
compensation or clean-up contracts. Armed groups engage in large-scale
theft of oil and the ransoming of oil workers. Government reprisals
frequently involve excessive force and the collective punishment of
communities, thus deepening general anger and resentment.
Between 2005 and 2008, the Nigerian government received around $36
billion in taxes and royalties from Shell. "They have never, not in the
slightest, held us to account for all the wrong we did," says Houppe.
"So without taking back any of our apologies, by all means: blame them too!"
A comprehensive Plan of Action, featuring general apologies, detailed
apologies, apologies in Braille and apologies in rhyme that Shell
employees will hang on the walls in their offices, will be presented at
Shell's Annual General Meeting on 18 May 2010 in The Hague.
*For more information see: **http://tinyurl.com/y9xrw5t
and **http://tinyurl.com/2ht3po and **http://tinyurl.com/657jfv*
--
--------------------------------------------
Todd Edelman
Green Idea Factory
Urbanstr. 45
D-10967 Berlin
Germany
Skype: toddedelman
Mobile: ++49 0162 814 4081
edelman at greenidea.eu
www.greenidea.eu
www.flickr.com/photos/edelman
CAR* is over. If you want it.
"Fort mit der Privatautostadt und was Neues hingebaut!"
- B. Brecht (with slight modification)
* "Car" is a sub-category of automobile, i.e. one used inappropriately, opportunistically or without creativity
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