"The harm being done to the environment must be ameliorated by the oil companies which by the oil companies which prospect for oil there… [T]he dehumanization of the inhabitants of the areas must cease and restitution be made for past wrong.”
– Ken Saro-Wiwa, in a speech in Lagos, October 1991

Nigeria – Companies fail to live up to human rights principles

Apart from a heavy military presence to restore order and to protect oil installations, the government is nearly absent from the Niger Delta. Without government-provided services, infrastructure or jobs, the inhabitants of often isolated Niger Delta communities turn to the most visibly powerful entity in their area, the oil company.
Gas flares, Niger Delta.
Gas flares, Niger Delta. © Alison Dilworth, Friends of the Earth
All the transnational oil corporations operate joint ventures with the Nigerian government, and are perceived by communities and local leaders as part of government, complicit with government in benefiting from the region’s resources, and therefore carrying responsibilities towards the population that are normally borne by governments.

The government has obligations under international law to respect, protect and fulfil the civil, political, social and economic rights of the population. Governments must also ensure that transnational oil corporations operate within the framework of international human rights standards for businesses. Companies have a responsibility to respect human rights within their sphere of influence and area of operations, as well as an obligation to comply with the law and not to harm human rights.

Under pressure to demonstrate social responsibility, in recent years companies have signed agreements with communities called Memoranda of Understanding, often promising to provide schools, health clinics and other social services. In some cases, services were delivered where none previously existed. In others, the services failed to function or were unnecessary.
Rukpokwu-Rumueke
The communal land where the people of Rukpokwu used to cultivate cassava and grow raffia palms to produce palm oil. © AI

These agreements have often divided communities and increased levels of violence. In many cases companies have acted arbitrarily and without transparency, or simply failed to live up to their promises. Violence has erupted as impoverished people have competed for land or for control of local authorities. with access to oil company royalties, jobs, contracts and development assistance. Large-scale theft of oil has led to a proliferation of small arms in the Niger Delta and to their increased use for criminal activities, including in attacks on rival communities or factions.

Following the execution of the “Ogoni nine”, many leading companies started to address human rights within their own operations and spheres of influence through voluntary codes of conduct. One effect of the executions has been that companies have recognized the need to have human rights policies and to look beyond the fence that separates them from the surrounding communities. Companies have responded to this challenge by adopting voluntary standards on human rights and security.

Some oil companies operating in the Niger Delta, including Shell and Chevron (CVX), have taken on board the Voluntary Principles for Security and Human Rights for companies in the extractive sector. These principles guide companies in maintaining the safety and security of their operations within a framework that ensures respect for human rights. They apply wherever the company operates but have no monitoring mechanism, making it difficult to evaluate companies’ adherence.

The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), which includes 30 industrialized countries, has developed Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises. Although the guidelines are non-binding, companies should respect them wherever they operate. They include only a limited and general human rights provision, which offers little guidance on how to resolve human rights issues.

Such guidelines have been valuable in raising awareness of key issues among companies. To date, however, they have failed to allay public mistrust, to ensure accountability for human rights in corporate activities, and most importantly to reduce significantly the negative impact of some companies’ activities on human rights.

The Nigerian government has frequently failed to meet its obligations to respect, protect and fulfil human rights. While providing security to the oil industry, because of its importance to the economy, it has failed to protect communities. Domestic regulation of the oil companies and protection of the population are clearly inadequate.

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights calls on every organ of society to respect human rights, and this includes companies. There is a clear trend, supported by Amnesty International, towards extending international obligations beyond states to companies and other non-state actors. An international human rights framework can act as a catalyst and benchmark for national legal reform. Together with other human rights groups, Amnesty International is promoting the UN Norms on the Responsibilities of Transnational Corporations and Other Business Enterprises with Regard to Human Rights, which provide the most appropriate basis for developing global standards on the human rights responsibilities of companies. The Norms apply to all businesses and are the most comprehensive statement of standards and rules for companies in relation to human rights. They establish the right balance between governments’ obligations and companies’ responsibilities on human rights.

In order that human rights standards for companies have real meaning, there must be transparent mechanisms and procedures for assessing corporate compliance. A clear example is the failure in implementing the Voluntary Principles. The OECD Guidelines can be monitored by governments in the countries where the companies are registered but have inherent weaknesses, including a lack of investigative powers. However, they provide a mechanism that communities and other interested parties can use to make complaints to National Contact Points, which each OECD state is required to assess.

Incorporating the relevant provisions of the Voluntary Principles within the OECD Guidelines could provide a first step in monitoring their implementation. Incorporating the UN Norms would help companies to understand what their human rights responsibilities are.