Reply #9: INTRODUCTION: WINNING OIL - LOSING PEOPLE [View All]

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Oil seems to have been the final spark for uprisings and the formation of armed opposition groups in Sudan such as the Anyanya II, and the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA) in 1984. One of the SPLA's first armed activities were targeted at the workers of the oil company Chevron, which planned to construct an oil pipeline running from the oil fields of the South to the refineries located in the northern harbour of Port Sudan.

Oil is also a symbol of the Sudanese problem: Sudan's recent history of decolonization, failed nation-building and its continuing political affairs are reflected in the story of oil. Economic factors, such as oil exploration and extraction, show not only that considerations of the global economy dominate political decision-making but also clearly indicate the underlying sources of the conflict in Sudan.

Amnesty International is publishing this report in an effort to make clear the link between the massive human rights violations by the security forces of the Government of Sudan and various government allied militias, and the oil operations by foreign companies. The pattern of human rights violations includes atrocities and the forcible internal displacement of large populations of local people. These violations by government security forces and armed opposition groups are directed at the population living in oil fields and surrounding areas, and is an effort to control, protect or destroy the oil production capacity.

Foreign companies are involved in this lucrative oil production, and they expect the Sudanese government to provide a secure environment, which includes the use of security forces to protect oil company staff and assets. Thus, Amnesty International believes many foreign companies tolerate violations by turning a blind eye to the human rights violations committed by the government security forces or government-allied troops in the name of protecting the security of the oil-producing areas. Some companies allegedly have employed private military and security companies, or have utilized security forces that have conscripted child soldiers.

This document is intended to establish a dialogue with foreign oil companies, raising our concerns about the responsibility that these companies should have in promoting a better human rights environment in the area where they are active in extracting oil.

2. BACKGROUND TO THE PROBLEM

Sudan, the largest country in Africa, has been at war with itself for much of the last half a century. A civil war broke out the year before independence in 1956 and, apart from a period of peace between 1972 and 1983, continues to the present day.

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http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/engAFR540012000