Exxon Mobil
Amnesty International has documented many cases around the world where oil
exploration and extraction is fueling armed conflict and contributing to human
rights abuses, such as through the use of security forces to protect oil company
staff and assets; violent repression of protest; and forcible displacement of
large populations of local people. Examples include Sudan,
Nigeria
and Colombia.
It is largely within this context that Amnesty International USA is concerned
about ExxonMobil Corporation’s human rights impact - it is the largest
energy company in the world with interests in over 150 countries, including
operations in many countries where Amnesty International has documented significant
human rights abuses. ExxonMobil leads a consortium of investors who initially
developed and are now operating the Chad-Cameroon
oil pipeline project that runs from the oil fields in Doba in southern Chad
to the Atlantic coast of Cameroon, and the company also operates in Nigeria.
In Indonesia, the company
has been accused of complicity in human rights abuses through their contract
with the Indonesian military to provide security for a natural gas project in
the province of Aceh, northern Sumatra. Grave human rights abuses have been
reported in Aceh, where the Indonesian military has been carrying out military
operations against the Free Aceh Movement (GAM), an armed pro-independence group.
Amnesty, along with coalition partners, has also raised other areas of concern
with ExxonMobil, including the human rights implications of legal agreements
underpinning large foreign investment projects, labor rights issues, and gaps
in internal corporate policies which could lead to abuses, such as the lack
of an explicit policy on sexual orientation non-discrimination.
To help address these issues, in 1998, Amnesty International USA began actively
engaging in campaigning and dialogue with Mobil Oil around these issues. Following
the merger between Mobil and Exxon in 1999, AIUSA continued this approach with
ExxonMobil. Today, we continue this work with many partners in the US and abroad.
Read more about the history, successes, and
challenges of AIUSA’s work with ExxonMobil.
