Groups Testify Against Shell in The Hague

Written By Watchdogreporters

The Dutch parliament will on Wednesday January 26 hold a hearing on a joint complaint filed against Shell by Friends of the Earth International, Milieudefensie (Friends of the Earth Netherlands) and Amnesty International for the company’s unverifiable claims that almost all oil leaks in the Niger Delta are due to sabotage. The complaint which will be filed with the Dutch National Contact Point to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) tomorrow (Jan 25) is regarding the non-transparent, inconsistent and misleading figures that Shell has peddled on the causes of oil leaks in Nigeria.

During the public hearing which will hold in The Hague, the parliamentarians will also hear about the environmental and social impacts of Shell’s operations from scientists and other experts, including Friends of the Earth Netherlands.  A three-year  investigation conducted by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) funded  with  $ 9.5million provided  by Shell had concluded that only 10 percent of the  pollution in Ogoniland  was caused by equipment failures and Shell’s negligence  and  that the rest was caused  by  local  people stealing oil and sabotaging  pipelines.

The UNEP report which relied heavily on data from Shell was leaked to international media last year by Mike Cowing, head of a UNEP team that carried out the investigation.  Nnimmo Bassey, executive director of Environmental Rights Action (ERA) and chair of Friends of the Earth International said: "Shell can no longer continue this sanctimonious charade which relies on its own cooked up data. It should take full responsibility for the pollution of the Niger Delta and embark on thorough clean up of the environment. It must also stop gas flaring which not only fouls our air with a toxic cocktail but is also an economic drain”

Shell has been operating in Nigeria for more than five decades and the ERA, which is the Nigerian chapter of Friends of the Earth International and Milieudefensie have been consistent in identifying and criticizing the company’s unending pollution of the environment in the Niger Delta and failure to stop flaring gas, which has been prohibited by Nigerian law since 1984. Shell’s activities are also linked to the incessant strife in the Niger Delta region.

Geert Ritsema who will speak on behalf of Friends of the Earth Netherlands/International said: “The pressure on Shell to clean up its mess in Nigeria is increasing by the day. Last year, the company was removed from the Dow Jones Sustainability Index due to pollution in the Niger Delta, and recently Wikileaks showed that Shell uses political influence in Nigeria to manipulate the situation in the country. We call on Dutch politicians to make a point of Shell’s responsibility for the problems the company causes in Nigeria.”