SWEDISH OIL FIRM BLAMED FOR WAR CRIMES IN SUDAN

FROM AFRICA OIL WATCH

Tuesday, June 08, 2010

Swedish oil firm blamed for war crimes in Sudan - Global Witness hopes oil revenue may pave the way for peace in Darfur
A consortium led by Swedish Lundin Petroleum is partly to blame for war crimes committed in Sudan between 1997 and 2003, a report by the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan charged Tuesday.
Swedish oil firm blamed for war crimes in SudanReport from The Swedish Wire - Tuesday, 08 June 2010; 12:56
Author: AFP / The Swedish Wire:
ECOS, an umbrella group of European organisations "working for peace and justice in Sudan", said it believed Lundin and its consortium partners Petronas Carigali Overseas from Malaysia and OMV Exploration from Austria "may have been complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity" in Sudan.
Lundin Petroleum, previously called Lundin Oil, denied the allegations.
The 100-page report said Lundin's consortium, which also included the Sudanese state-owned oil company Sudapet, had signed a contract with Khartoum for oil exploitation in a concession area called Block 5A in the south "that was not at that time under full government control".
"The start of oil exploitation set off a vicious war in the area. Between 1997 and 2003, international crimes were committed on a large scale in what was essentially a military campaign by the government of Sudan to secure and take control of the oil fields in Block 5A," it charged.
The crimes -- including widespread "killing of civilians, rape of women, abduction of children, torture and forced displacements" -- were mainly committed by the Sudanese army and its main opponent the Sudan People's Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A).
The ECOS report, written with the support of European Union-funded NGO-network Fatal Transactions, however argued that the Lundin consortium had set the wheels in motion by signing its contract with Khartoum "without any guarantees that human rights and international law would be respected".
The report also charged that the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments had "failed in their international obligations to prevent human rights violations and international crimes".
It called on them to investigate whether the consortium members knew or should have known that their activities "assisted those who were responsible for gross human rights abuses".
According to ECOS, some 12,000 people were killed or died from hunger, exhaustion and conflict-related diseases in the Block 5A from 1997 to 2003, while around 160,000 people were forcibly displaced.
In an open letter to Lundin Petroleum shareholders posted on the company's website, Chairman Ian Lundin insisted the report presented no new evidence of any wrongdoings, pointing out the company had refuted similar charges in the past.
"We again categorically refute all the allegations and inferences of wrongdoing attributed to Lundin Petroleum in the report. We strongly feel that our activities contributed to peace and development in Sudan," he wrote.
Last Updated (Tuesday, 08 June 2010 14:34)
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UNPAID DEBT The Legacy of Lundin, Petronas and OMV in Sudan, 1997-2003http://www.ecosonline.org/reports/2010/Press_release_UNPAID_DEBT/
Copy of press release from ECOS published Tuesday, 08 June 2010:
ECOS calls for Oil Company Investigation Over Sudanese Human Rights Abuses
A group of aid agencies that worked in Sudan during the civil war, reporting together as the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS), have called for an investigation into the role played by a consortium of oil companies in the conflict and their possible complicity in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity.
ECOS’ report, UNPAID DEBT: The Legacy of Lundin, Petronas and OMV in Sudan, 1997-2003, says that the start of oil exploration in Block 5A in Southern Sudan set off a spiral of violence as the Sudanese government and forces loyal to them set out to secure and take control of the oil fields in that block. Thousands of inhabitants died, and almost 200,000 people were violently displaced.
Atrocities included killings, rape, child abduction, torture, the destruction of schools, markets and clinics and the burning of food, huts and animal shelters. Thousands died, and almost 200,000 people were violently displaced.
The terror began after the Sudanese government signed an oil exploration contract with a consortium comprising Swedish company Lundin Oil AB, Petronas Carigali Overseas from Malaysia, OMV (Sudan) Exploration GmbH from Austria, and the Sudanese company Sudapet Ltd.
The oil consortium, the report says, ‘should have been aware of the abuses committed by the armed groups that partly provided for their security needs. However, they continued to work with the Sudanese government, its agencies and its army’.
Now ECOS is calling on the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, the companies ‘were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’
ECOS is calling for the oil companies to recompense survivors of the violence. A material right to compensation for past injustices that occurred as a result of oil exploitation is created in both Sudan’s Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) and the country’s Interim National Constitution, but no adequate compensation has been received to date.
Lundin, which led the oil consortium, denies that it violated the norms of international law or that it participated in or had, or ought to have had, knowledge of any of the illegal acts that are documented in the report.
It says that it at all times acted in accordance with all applicable local and international laws and its operations have been and continue to be conducted in a manner which seeks to have a positive influence on the country and
people of Sudan.
There should be no more war over oil in Sudan. The parties to the 2005 Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) are discussing arrangements for the future management of the oil industry. These should include compensation, and the oil companies and their home governments can play a key role in bringing that about. Moreover, ECOS contends that it is their duty. A compensation process that will do justice to the victims and is designed to create the conditions for reconciliation and forgiveness, would bring crucial peace dividends and contribute to a much needed environment of trust in the oil-producing areas and beyond.
Therefore, to promote peace and achieve justice for the victims of the oil war in Block 5A, ECOS recommends that:
1. The Governments of Sweden, Austria, and Malaysia investigate the alleged violations of norms of international law by their national oil companies.
2. The Governments of Sweden, Austria, and Malaysia account for their failure to prevent the alleged human rights violations and international crimes.
3. The Governments of Sweden, Austria, and Malaysia ensure appropriate compensation for all persons whose rights have been violated in the course of the war for control over Sudan's oil fields.
4. The international guarantors of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) take urgent initiatives to ensure implementation of the right to compensation as established by the CPA.
5. The members of the Lundin Consortium open all records and fully cooperate with investigations into their role in the reported events.
6. The members of the Lundin Consortium create enabling conditions for reconciliation with victims of the oil war, starting with the allocation of their fair share of compensation for the victims, which ECOS estimates at US$300 million.
7. Investors divest from all companies that do not fully cooperate with investigations into credible allegations of complicity in international crimes or fail to compensate the victims of Sudan’s oil wars pursuant to the terms and conditions of the CPA and the UN Guidelines.
The full report is to be found at www.ecosonline.org from June 8, 10AM CET.
Note to Editors:The Stockholm launch of the report takes place Tuesday June 8 from 10AM -11.30AM (CET) at Nalen Conference, Hallituskatu 74, Stockholm. Egbert Wesselink presents the ECOS report. Pastors Ramadan Chan Liol, Secretary General of the SCC (Sudanese Council of Churches) and James Koung Ninrew, representing the victims in Unity State, come directly from the Sudan to present the report. Olle Asplund and Percy Bratt, Chair of Civil Rights Defenders, will comment on the legal dimensions of the report. To book interviews contact: Kathelijne Schenkel, +31 64 89 814 98 / schenkel@ecosonline.org
The London launch of the report takes place Thursday June 10 from 3.30PM to 4.30PM at Chatham House, 10 St James's Square, London SW1Y 4LE. Speakers will include ECOS Coordinator Egbert Wesselink.
Further readingEuropean Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) - ECOS unites 50 European organizations working for peace and justice in Sudan. We do research and call for action from governments and the business sector to ensure that Sudan’s oil wealth contributes to peace and equitable development Read more...