The Rafto Prize 2012 will be delivered in Bergen (Norway) on November 4. The Rafto Foundation has awarded annually - since 1987- the Rafto Prize for Human
Rights to advocates of human rights and democracy.
Several Rafto Laureates have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. [3]
The 2012 Rafto Prize will be awarded to Nnimmo Bassey in recognition of his long-term fight for people’s rights to life, health, food and water in a world affected by climate change and mass environmental destruction.
“Through his rights based work and criticism of prevailing systems, Bassey has shown how human rights can help mitigate the effects of these changes,” says the Rafto Foundation.
Nnimmo Bassey said:
"I am honored and humbled by this announcement. I hold the Rafto Foundation in high esteem for its commitment to human right defenders. I have campaigned on oil pollution and human rights in Nigeria for decades. Standing with impacted communities we continually demand justice. We press on, convinced that truth will prevail.”
He added: “We expect justice to be done very soon, after a major court case hearing against Anglo-Dutch oil giant Shell in The Netherlands. Shell's incredible contamination in Nigeria will be under scrutiny at a court hearing in The Hague on October 11 and the verdict is expected in early 2013,” he added. [4]
Nnimmo Bassey is one of Africa’s leading advocates and campaigners for the environment and human rights. Bassey has tirelessly stood up against the practices of multinational corporations and the environmental devastation they leave behind, destroying the lives and trampling on the rights of local people.
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth International chair, Tel: +234 80 37 27 43 95 (Nigerian mobile number) or email nnimmo (at) eraction.org
Kari Amble, The Rafto Foundation, Head of Information,
Phone: +47 55 21 09 75 Mobile: +47 91 31 44 17 E-mail: kari.amble (at) rafto.no
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] For Nnimmo Bassey’s biography and a selection of high-resolution, free to use photo portraits go to http://www.foei.org/en/media/photos/nnimmo-bassey-photos
[2] For more information about the 'Rafto Prize 2012 please visit: www.rafto.no
[3] The Rafto Laureates whom have subsequently been awarded the Nobel Peace Prize are: Aung San Suu Kyi, Burma (Rafto Prize in 1990), people of East‐Timor by Josè Ramos‐Horta (Rafto Prize in 1993), Kim Dae‐jung, South‐Korea (Rafto Prize in 2000), and Shirin Ebadi, Iran (Rafto Prize in 2001).
[4] For more information about the court case against Shell visit : http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2012/key-hearing-in-court-case-on-oil-giant-shells-nigerian-oil-pollution
Lawyers for both parties will plea at a key hearing in The Hague on 11 October at 9:30am. [1] The verdict is expected early in 2013.
“This court case will have groundbreaking legal repercussions for multinational corporations globally, and especially for European corporations,“ says Geert Ritsema, globalisation campaign leader at Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie.
“Due to the poor maintenance of pipelines and factories, Shell let tens of millions of barrels of oil leak in the Niger Delta, with disastrous consequences for local people and the environment. The Anglo Dutch oil giant must now stop its pollution, compensate the damage and prevent more oil spills from happening,” he adds.
Geert Ritsema and Hans Berkhuizen, the director of Friends of the Earth Netherlands, will conduct a fact-finding mission in Nigeria from September 27 – October 2.
“Nigerians have to sue Shell in The Netherlands to obtain justice. Meanwhile Shell uses the threat of legal action to attempt to silence legitimate protests, for instance the recent Greenpeace protests against Shell in Europe. They pollute with impunity, destroy livelihoods and block dissent. This is deplorable," says Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria and Chair of Friends of the Earth International.
“We want to see an end to the corporate crimes committed by oil giants like Shell in Nigeria and around the world,” he adds.
In May 2008, four Nigerian fishermen and farmers [2] from the villages of Goi, Ikot Ada Udo and Oruma, in conjunction with Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie and supported by Friends of the Earth Nigeria / ERA, started a legal case against Shell Nigeria and its parent company in the Netherlands. [3]
The Hague court hearing will take place just 10 days after a key [October 1st] hearing of the U.S. Supreme court regarding a separate lawsuit 'Kiobel v. Royal Dutch Shell Petroleum' brought by Nigerian refugees in the U.S. accusing Shell of helping the Nigerian military to systematically torture and kill environmentalists in the 1990s. [4]
The serious contamination of the oil rich Niger Delta has had disastrous consequences for the local people and their environment. Oil leaks regularly pollute the fields, forests and water. These leaks are a heavy burden on agriculture and fishing.
“Since the spill I have lost most of my income. Now we live from hand to mouth: sometimes I go into the bush, sometimes a company gives me a day’s work for 500 Naira [3 euro], ” says one of the four plaintiffs, Alali Efanga from Oruma (Bayelsa State) in Nigeria.
Shell is the operator of Nigeria's largest oil fields and bears significant responsibility for the oil pollution. The UN, among others, has stated that Shell does not comply with legal environmental standards and has failed to clean up leaked oil – or has done so only insufficiently, for decades. Moreover, Shell’s own sustainability report stated that the number of leaks due to poor maintenance doubled in 2011, rising from 32 to 64.
In May 2012 Friends of the Earth International delivered some 70,000 signatures to Shell CEO Peter Voser from people who want Shell to start cleaning up its mess in the oil-rich and highly polluted Niger Delta in Nigeria. The signatures were collected by the organisation SumOfUs in close cooperation with Friends of the Earth and Amnesty International.
NOTES TO EDITORS
[1] PHOTOS OF THE OIL SPILLS, as well as legal documents and fact sheets about the legal proceedings are available at :
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press and
http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/press/documents/documents-on-the-shell-legal-case
[2] BIOS, PORTRAITS AND STORIES OF THE PLAINTIFFS are available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell/oil-leaks/courtcase/plaintiffs
[3] A TIMELINE OF THE COURT CASE is available at : http://www.milieudefensie.nl/publicaties/factsheets/timeline-courtcase-shell
[4] For more information read “Kiobel v. Shell - Justice in U.S. courts for atrocities overseas: preserving the Alien Tort Statute” at http://cja.org/section.php?id=510
FOR MORE INFORMATION
Friends of the Earth Netherlands / Milieudefensie press office: Tel: + 31 - 20 - 5507 333 or e-mail persvoorlichting [at] milieudefensie.nl
Nnimmo Bassey, Friends of the Earth Nigeria and chair of Friends of the Earth International: +234 803 727 4395 (Nigerian cell) or email: Nnimmo [at] eraction.org
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The Brazilian corporation Vale is the world’s second largest metals and mining company and one of the largest producers of raw materials globally. In 2010 it reported profits of US$ 17 billion.
The case study released by Friends of the Earth International reveals Vale's unfulfilled promises and its lobby activities aimed at influencing national and international climate change policies.
Despite setting out in 2008 its intention to cut its carbon dioxide emissions, Vale emitted - according to its own figures - 20 million tons of CO2 in 2010, an increase of a third on 2007 levels (15 million tons).
Vale has representatives on the Brazilian government’s official delegation to the UN and is one among many major corporations that are exerting pressure on government climate policies to undermine global action on the climate crisis.
The South African energy giant Sasol was also exposed by Friends of the Earth International in a separate recent case study on 'corporate capture' of UN processes. [3]
Chief among Vale’s large scale mining projects that have direct impact on peoples and the environment in Brazil is the controversial steel complex of Companhia Siderurgica do Atlantico (TKCSA), a joint venture in Rio de Janeiro.
Vale has faced heavy criticism for high levels of pollution at this plant, which increased Rio de Janeiro's carbon dioxide emissions by 76 %. Nevertheless, Vale’s project looks set to profit from 'carbon credits' under the so-called Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and other offsetting mechanisms.
“The project severely affected the livelihoods of eight thousand fishing workers living in traditional communities in the Sepetiba bay and the joint venture was denounced for environmental crimes in Brazilian courts,” said Lucia Ortiz for Friends of the Earth International.
“While Vale profits from large-scale mining activities which cause climate change, it also profits from false solutions which are exacerbating the climate crisis, such as carbon offsetting,” she added.
Vale is also constructing the Belo Monte dam in the Amazonian rainforest which is set to displace 40,000 people and have devastating consequences for the region's unique biodiversity and Indigenous Peoples.
The case study released on January 27 also exposes a Vale mining concession in Mozambique, the Moatize coal project, which exploits one of the world’s largest coal reserves since 2011. It is expected to produce 11 million tons of coal per year once it is fully operational.
Vale’s Moatize project attracted considerable criticism in Mozambique, for instance because some 1,300 families were forced to relocate to areas with difficult access to water, energy and arable land, and into houses badly built, with cracks and leaky roofs. Affected communities recently resorted to non-violent demonstrations, including blockading a train transporting coal to the Beira harbour.
Daniel Ribeiro from Friends of the Earth Mozambique said: “Members of local communities have been threatened, persecuted and harassed, according to a Chipanga community member, and these reports are just the tip of the iceberg.”
Lucia Ortiz, Friends of the Earth International Coordinator on Economic Justice – Resisting to Neoliberalism. Tel: + 55 51 9841 8707 (Brazil) Email: lucia@amigosdaterrabrasil.org.br
Daniel Ribeiro, Friends of the Earth Mozambique. Tel +258 84 7151300 (Mozambique) Email: daniel.ja.mz@gmail.com
For more information about Vale: http://www.publiceye.ch/en/vote/vale/
[2] The Vale case study released on January 27 is online for press preview in English at
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2012/how-corporations-rule-vale/
And in Portuguese:
http://www.foei.org/en/resources/publications/pdfs/2012/como-as-corporacoes-governam-vale/
[3] The Sasol case study released on 7 December is online at
http://www.foei.org/en/media/archive/2011/climate-agenda-of-south-african-energy-giant-sasol-exposed
"All this waste, pollution and impacts on communities lives and livelihoods is in exchange for a product that has very few practical applications. With environmental costs almost entirely unaccounted for, the processing costs are all that stand in the way for companies to realise huge profits at the expense of those living next to the mines."
Last year, the Norwegian Pension fund divested 230 million dollar from Barrick for ethical reasons[3], especially related to their mine in Papua New Guinea. And when Swiss Research firm Covalace compiled both quantitative and qualitative data spanning seven years and 581 companies they listed Barrick as the 12 least ethical company in the world[4].
Heri Ayubu, from Lawyers Environmental Action Team/Friends of the Earth Tanzania said:
“ There have been two reports[5,6] confirming lasting negative effects of a toxic spill from Barrick Gold's North Mara operation in Tanzania that occurred in May 2010. Villagers alleged that up to 40
people and from 700 to 1000 herds of livestock died from the contaminated water and the nearby community are still experiencing health problems to date. Despite this Barrick has taken no action and is still endangering peoples’ right to life.”
Natalie Lowrey, from Friends of the Earth Australia, who is inside Barrick Gold's Annual General Meeting in Toronto, Canada and joining the rally outside, said:
“In Australia, Barrick has desecrated an ecologically and culturally significant site on Wiradjuri lands[7] with an open-pit mine in the bed of Lake Cowal within a flood plain. Wiradjuri Traditional Owners have been fighting Barrick in the courts for 10 years on the desecration of sacred sites at Lake Cowal and on the protection of Wiradjuri Native Title Rights.”
Friends of the Earth is joining ProtestBarrick.net with Barrick Gold impacted communities from Tanzania, Philippines and Papua New Guinea on a two week speaking tour in Canada from 27 April until 15 May.
Actions protesting Barrick Gold are also taking place in Latin America:
http://protestbarrick.net/article.php?id=691
Romel de Vera, Friends of the Earth International, Tel: +63 906 305 7097 (Philippines), mel.devera@lrcksk.org
Natalie Lowrey, Friends of the Earth Australia, +1 647 838 8455 (Canada), natalie.lowrey@foe.org.au
Heri Ayubu, Lawyers Environmental Action Team-Friends of the Earth Tanzania, +255 656 322 271 (Tanzania), heriayubu23@gmail.com
[1]. Of the 23 mines that Barrick provides water usage data for, the average water consumption totals 3.6 billion litres/year for 2009. Barrick
Gold website: http://www.barrick.com/CorporateResponsibility/Reporting/PerformanceTables/Environment/default.aspx
[2]. In 2006, Canada consumed 2.15 billion litres of bottled water:
http://www4.agr.gc.ca/AAFC-AAC/display-afficher.do?id=1171644581795&lang=eng
[3]. Norwegian Government website:
http://www.regjeringen.no/en/dep/fin/press-center/Press-releases/2009/mining-company-excluded-from-thegovernm.html?id=543107
[4]. Huffington Post: The 12 Least Ethical Companies In The World:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/01/28/the-leastethicalcompani_n_440073.html
[5]. Bitala, Manfre, Charles Kweyunga, and Mkabwa LK Manoko, “Levels of Heavy Metals and Cyanide in Soil, Sediment and Water from the Vicinity of North Mara Gold Mine in Tarime District, Tanzania” June 2009:
http://www.protestbarrick.net/downloadsNorth%20Mara%20Pollution%20Report.pdf
[6]. Norwegian University of Life Sciences, Investigation of trace metal concentrations in soil, sediments and waters in the vicinity of Geita Gold Mineand North Mara Gold Minein North West Tanzania, 2009:
http://www.protestbarrick.net/downloads/FinalTanzania-2.pdf
[7] Barrick Gold's mine in Lake Cowal, the 'Sacred Heartland of the Wiradjuri Nation': http://bit.ly/lakecowalaerial
Geert Ritsema will speak on behalf of Friends of the Earth Netherlands/International. He said: “The pressure on Shell to clean up its mess in Nigeria is increasing by the day. Last year, the company was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index due to pollution in the Niger Delta, and recently Wikileaks showed that Shell uses political influence in Nigeria to manipulate the situation in the country. We call on Dutch politicians to make a point of Shell’s responsibility for the problems the company causes in Nigeria.”
The complaint filed with the Dutch National Contact Point to the OECD today is regarding the non-transparent, inconsistent and misleading figures that Shell has distributed on the causes of oil leaks in Nigeria. The complaint explains how Shell often unjustly claims that the leaks result from sabotage and that Shell is using random figures without any independent verification
Nnimmo Bassey, director of Friends of the Earth Nigeria (ERA) and chair of Friends of the Earth International said: "We monitor spills regularly and our observations often contradict information produced by Shell. Several studies have placed the bulk of the blame for oil spills in the Niger Delta on the doorsteps of the oil companies; particularly Shell. It should take its responsibility and clean up the mess it made in our country. Moreover Shell should stop gas flaring in the Niger Delta. That is one act they cannot blame local communities for."
Shell has been operating in the West African country of Nigeria for more than half a century and Friends of the Earth International, ERA and Milieudefensie have been protesting against the oil concern’s policy for decades. They want Shell to clean the hundreds of oil leaks it causes each year and to stop flaring gas, which has been prohibited by Nigerian law since 1984. The associated gas now simply burned off emits poisonous gasses and CO2, whereas it could be put to good use, such as to generate electricity.
[1] The complaint can be downloaded here: OECD submission
www.milieudefensie.nl/english/shell-in-nigeria
www.foei.org
FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Friends of the Earth Netherlands press office: +31 (0) 20-5507333, persvoorlichting@milieudefensie.nl
Friends of the Earth International: + 31 (0) 20-6221369, media@foei.org
“As carbon control legislation moves forward in the US, and the world looks towards Copenhagen for action to limit climate change, Shell is going the wrong way by massively increasing the carbon intensity of its production” said Steve Kretzmann, Executive Director of Oil Change International, and one of the authors of the report.
Charlie Kronick, senior climate advisor of Greenpeace UK said
“Shell has a stated goal to be the leading tar sands operator, but they can’t lead on tar sands and climate change at the same time. A strategy based on tar sands will inevitably not just damage the climate but also increase risks to the company’s future as well as shareholder and investor value.”
“Shell’s carbon heavy portfolio explains why they have been leading the industry lobby against EU carbon control legislation in Brussels” said Paul de Clerck, Corporate Campaign Coordinator for Friends of the Earth International.
This is not just a problem for Shell. Investors around the world are voicing their concerns over tar sands investment. 30% of ConocoPhillips shareholders voted for a resolution calling for an assessment of the environmental impact of the company’s tar sands projects and today at Statoil’s annual meeting significant support is expected for a motion calling for the company to end its tar sands investment altogether. This research shows that Shell’s tar sands liability and carbon exposure is in fact the greatest among its peers and its claims on “responsible energy” need to be seriously questioned by investors.
In the U.K.: Ben Amunwa, Platform/Remember Saro-Wiwa, +44-207-357-0055,
+44-7891-454-714, ben@remembersarowiwa.com
In Belgium: Paul de Clerck, Friends of the Earth International:
+32-494-38 09 59 or paul@milieudefensie.nl
In the US: Steve Kretzmann Oil Change International, +1-202-497-1033,
steve@priceofoil.org