Tell Shell to come clean in the Niger Delta

10 January 2010, 03:56PM

People living in the oil producing areas of the Niger Delta in Nigeria have to drink, cook with and wash in polluted water. They eat fish contaminated with oil and their farming land is being destroyed.

Oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring are endemic. The air reeks of petrol and communities complain of breathing problems, skin lesions and other health problems.

At least 6,800 spills have been recorded by the UN Development Agency.

The main operator in Niger Delta is the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC), covering 31,000 square kilometres. The estimated US$600 billion in oil revenue already extracted has done little to alleviate the problems of the region. Instead, the contrast between the wealth of a few and the deepening poverty of many has fuelled discontent and anger.

Young people with few prospects see oil theft, gangs and militant groups as their only option. Government responses have frequently involved excessive force and violence against entire communities.

It's time for the Nigerian Government and Shell to come clean.

Shell has significantly failed to abide by international standards relating to oil industry operations, the environment and human rights. And the Nigerian Government has done little to protect the human rights of its people against the actions of multinational companies.

Act now

Call on Shell’s Chief Executive, Mr. Peter Voser, to make a public commitment to clean up Shell’s operations in the Niger Delta.

Send an urgent letter by clicking on the ACT NOW button on the right-hand side of this page.

Personalised letters are always more effective, so rewrite the letter and subject line in your own words if you have time. Here are some key points to help you.

If you would prefer to mail a letter, the address to send it to is:
Mr. Peter Voser
Chief Executive Officer
Royal Dutch Shell
PO Box 162
2501 AN The Hague
Netherlands

Salutation: Dear Mr. Peter Voser

You may receive a response from Shell, if so please forward the response to us.

For more information

Read our report, Petroleum, pollution and poverty in the Niger Delta (pdf 791kb).

Update

Amnesty International has been calling on the government of Nigeria and oil companies to address the devastating impact that the oil industry has had on human rights and the environment in the Niger Delta.

One of our key objectives has been greater transparency and disclosure of information on impacts of the oil industry in the Niger Delta.

In July 2009, AI, along with eight Nigerian NGOs, called on Shell’s new CEO, Mr. Peter Voser, to disclose a number of documents, including environmental impact assessments, information on oil spills and the Niger Delta Environment Survey - a major study initiated by Shell in the mid 1990s but never published.

Amnesty International representatives have had several meetings with Shell on this issue, and most recently raised the issue at Shell’s Annual General Meeting (AGM) in the Netherlands on 18 May 2010. We welcome Shell’s acknowledgement at the AGM that they need to do more to disclose information and their commitment to act on this issue, as well as their confirmation that the Niger Delta Environment Survey will finally be released.   

Amnesty International will continue to press both the Nigerian government and Shell for greater transparency and full and consistent disclosure of information on the impacts of the oil industry.

Your Message

Gas well burning from oil exploration, Niger Delta © Kadir van Lohuizen

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Name *

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To
peter.p.voser@shell.com

Salutation
Dear Mr. Peter Voser

Email subject *

Email *
I am very concerned about the devastating impact that pollution and environmental damage associated with the operations of Shell is having on the human rights of people in the Niger Delta in Nigeria. Shell has failed to take effective measures to address the social impacts of its activities in the Niger Delta. Oil pollution has damaged crucial sources of livelihood for communities, including farming and fisheries. Communities are rarely provided with information on the impacts of oil company operations on their environment and on their human rights. As the Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell, I urge you to: * undertake a comprehensive clean-up of all oil pollution in consultation with affected communities and to report on this publicly and regularly; * disclose all information on the impact of oil operations on the environment and human rights, including Environmental Impact Assessments and any studies the Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC) may have done on the impact of its operations on the communities and the environment in the Niger Delta. We believe your term as Chief Executive can – and must – be a turning point for Shell. We are calling on you to commit publicly to undertake these actions to clean up Shell's operations in the Niger Delta.

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