BITN 918_04,05 (News)

9/3/12

14:45

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N E W S

The government has been accused of seeking to cover up torture after intervening in a controversial American court case. Anglo-Dutch oil firm Royal Dutch Shell is facing allegations that it aided and abetted the Nigerian government to commit crimes against humanity in the 1990s. Twelve Nigerian citizens are suing the company under a law the Alien Tort Statute that enables corporations to be held accountable in the US for human rights violations if they do business there. But the UK government has filed a brief in the case arguing that the power of the law should be curtailed to protect British companies from prosecution.

Charles Wiwa is among 12 Nigerians suing Shell in the US. Photo: PA

Oil spills
Human rights organisations have attacked the move, saying it could mean companies that commit abuses in the future escape culpability. Shami Chakrabarti, director of campaign group Liberty, said: The government speaks of protecting British business but it is effectively seeking to cover up torture in US courts one jurisdiction where such atrocities are being successfully challenged.

Government attempt to shield Shell from court

rounded up by the military and the police. It is alleged that some were then killed, tortured and raped with the logistical and financial support of Shell.

Government effectively seeking to cover up torture. Chakrabarti

If it gets its way then torture victims the world over may no longer be able to seek redress for the unforgivable actions of foreign corporations working with repressive regimes. For decades, Shell, a 150 billion company with offices in Manchester, has faced resistance in Nigeria over its presence in the country. In the mid-1990s, members of the Ogoni community in the Niger Delta demonstrated against oil spills that had damaged farmland, with claims that Shell made no contribution towards the clean-up or for environmental protection. Leaders of the protest were
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Ogoni victims
Survivor Charles Wiwa, now living in Chicago, was arrested for organising a demonstration against Shell and the Nigerian government. Upon his detention, he claims he was attacked for a period of more than two hours by 18 soldiers. They started beating me horsewhipping me, clubbing me, [kicking me with their] boots, Wiwa said in a statement last week. When it was obvious that my life was at risk, I fled Nigeria. Other Ogoni victims included writer Ken Saro-Wiwa, who was executed along with eight others in 1995 following a military tribunal plaintiffs say was backed by the oil giant, a bishop who alleges he was detained without charge and beaten for allowing his church to host protest meetings, and a local leaders widow who was sexually assaulted and attacked

after her husband was arrested and executed. Paul Hoffman, a lawyer representing the Nigerians, said: All that were saying in this case is that when a corporation contributes to genocide or crimes against humanity, that they should be held liable... the same way they would be held liable if one of their agents is engaged in an automobile accident that injures somebody on the job.

Investment
Shell is arguing corporations cannot be sued in the US under the Alien Tort Statute because international law doesnt recognise corporate liability for human rights crimes. The firm also claims allowing corporations to be sued would discourage investment in developing-world countries. Even a merit-less federal suit against a corporation can take years to resolve and cause substantial public relations damage in the interim, Shell said in its Supreme Court brief. These costs in turn may lead corporations to reduce their operations in the less developed

countries from which these suits tend to arise, to the detriment of citizens of those countries who benefit from foreign investment. The Foreign and Commonwealth Office echoed Shells position and defended its decision to back the company. A spokesperson told The Big Issue in the North: We believe that human rights obligations rest with states and not with non-state actors such as corporations. It is the UKs wellestablished position that corporations can and should be held to account for their activities before a court which can exercise jurisdiction over those activities in accordance with established rules of international law. The Foreign Secretary has made clear on many occasions that human rights is at the core of all of our foreign policy. It is not in our character as a nation to have a foreign policy without a conscience or to ignore our obligation to help those less fortunate.
RYAN GALLAGHER

THE BIG ISSUE IN THE NORTH 12-18 MARCH 2012