In response to a new report supported by Oxfam detailing how oil projects in Uganda have ushered in new human rights violations while aggravating existing ones, Andrew Bogrand, Oxfam's Senior Policy Advisor for Natural Resource Justice, said:
"This report reveals how human rights risks flagged in previous years are turning into real violations, especially against human rights defenders. TotalEnergies stands out among oil majors for engaging civil society, improving its human rights policies, and responding to defenders under pressure, but further action is required on all fronts to turn down the heat on activists and frontline communities. As project lead, TotalEnergies should strengthen its human rights policies and, critically, ensure that these policies are better enforced among development partners and subcontractors. What are the 'red lines' that the company will not cross when it comes to risks facing defenders?" said Andrew Bogrand, Senior Policy Advisor at Oxfam.
A follow-up to past documentation efforts in 2020 and 2022, the report Heated: Human rights, frontline communities, and oil in Uganda is authored by the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Avocats Sans Frontières (ASF) and the Civic Response on Environment and Development (CRED).
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Notes to editors
- In June 2024, Oxfam and FIDH published an urgent joint appeal calling on project developers to address the serious threats facing human rights defenders and frontline communities in the country’s oil frontier.
- In 2023, the U.S. Department of State human rights country report for Uganda detailed the heightened risks to environmental activists in the country.
- In September 2020, FIDH published New Oil, Same Business? At a Crossroads to Avert Catastrophe in Uganda. At the same time, Oxfam released Empty Promises Down the Line? A Human Rights Impact Assessment of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. Both community-based human rights impact assessments flagged current and future risks linked to these oil projects and offered companies and governments recommendations for avoiding human rights violations and environmental degradation.