An Exxon Valdez sized oil spill has occurred on average every year for the past 50 years in the Niger Delta. Exxon is responsible for 6 spills in the same area of the Niger Delta since December 2009.
We hope you enjoyed April Fools this year as much as we did, thanks to the stellar jokesters the Yes Men who have a habit of impersonating corporate spokespeople. The people of the Niger Delta still need you to
encourage Shell to make real amends by ending gas flaring in the Niger Delta and investing in job training and educational opportunities for every resident of a village whose self-sufficient lifestyle was damaged by Shell.
If you missed the prank, read the statement below and watch the video above of Shell’s apology to the Niger Delta.
A huge thanks to the Yes Men for driving a 100% increase in traffic on JINN’s Facebook page over the last week!
from http://shellapologises.com/statement.html:
The Hague, 27 March 2010
Today, Royal Dutch Shell is holding back the tears no more. Shell apologises to all inhabitants of Nigeria’s Niger Delta for the many years of human rights violations, for which Shell takes full responsibility.
Confronted with massive evidence of human rights violations that can only be attributed to its operations in the Niger Delta, Royal Dutch Shell is extremely proud to be the first international petrochemical company to publicly say:
We are sorry.
Since Shell first discovered oil in the Niger Delta in 1956, the company has ravished the land and polluted the environment. “We thought these people didn’t know what was good for them,” explains Bradford Houppe, Vice-President of Shell’s newly established Ethical Affairs Committee. “We never knew that we were bringing them impoverishment, conflict, abuse and deprivation. Now we know.” Shell acknowledges that it is responsible for large-scale oil spills, waste dumping and gas flaring. Each year, hundreds of oil spills occur, many of which are caused by corrosion of oil pipes and poor maintenance of infrastructure. “Our failure to deal with these spills swiftly and the lack of effective clean-up greatly exacerbate their human rights and environmental impact,” says Houppe. “And that is wrong. It’s just really wrong.” Read the rest of this entry »
"A child is silhouetted against a gas flare Nigeria's southwest delta: 80% of the country's oil wealth goes to 1% of its population." Caption: Guardian UK; Photograph: Reuters/Corbis
Today, March 9, marked the deadline for Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) Candidate countries to complete “validation” by reporting to the EITI secretariat in Oslo. Nigeria is one of 20 countries that failed to complete validation of its efforts to comply with the EITI. In 2008, a total of 22 EITI Candidate countries were given the March 9, 2010 deadline.
Nigeria was the first country to give domestic legal force to the EITI when it passed national legislation in May 2007. Nigeria became an EITI Candidate country in September 2007 and was given until today to complete validation, a necessary step for progressing from an EITI Candidate country to an EITI Compliant country. Validation provides an independent assessment of progress achieved and identifies measures needed to strengthen the EITI process.
Nigeria submitted a draft validation report but nonetheless failed to meet the deadline. If faced with “exceptional and unforeseeable circumstances,” EITI Candidate countries can request an extension from the EITI Board, which will meet in mid-April to consider these requests.
If a Candidate country does complete validation (or request an extension) by March 9, 2010, it will be delisted.
In honor of International Women’s Day, Justice in Nigeria Now highlights the work of an inspiring, accomplished women’s leader in the Niger Delta: Emem Okon.
Ms. Okon, the Executive Director of Kebetkache Women Development & Resource Centre, uses her passion for mobilizing and empowering women to promote human rights, democratic principles, and social justice in the Niger Delta. Ms. Okon helps women to develop their leadership potentials and project their voices in Nigerian political, social, and cultural spheres.
Based in the Niger Delta, where women face particular adverse impacts of violence—both in terms of violence against women and in the effects of violent conflict on economic and social livelihoods—Ms. Okon advocates for peace and capacity-building, with and for the women of the Niger Delta.
Much of Ms. Okon’s work stems from the challenges that women in the Niger Delta face living in the shadow of oil companies’ operations, where resulting gas flaring and oil spills afflict harm on the people and the environment.
Read this profile on Emem Okon in the National Catholic Reporter as part of its series, Women: Birthing Justice, Birthing Hope:
