2021-03-30
Investors must act to ensure respect for human rights as Sudan oil war trial looms
Article
Two executives of the Swedish oil company Lundin Energy are being investigated as suspects in a war crimes investigation into alleged involvement in the Sudan civil war. A motion tabled at the company’s latest AGM accused it of seeking to deny and delay justice for victims of the war and proposed that the company apply a human rights approach to the legal defence strategy. Investors must seriously consider their exposure to human rights risk as this landmark case draws near.
More than 20 years have passed since Lundin Energy (then Lundin Oil) was prospecting for oil in Sudan. At the time a brutal conflict was raging in the country. According to the 2010 report Unpaid Debt, approximately 160,000 people were forcibly displaced and 12,000 killed in the Lundin oil concession area in Sudan where the presence of oil companies changed the conflict into a war for oil.
These atrocities have been thoroughly documented by reliable sources and led the Swedish Prosecution Authority to initiate an investigation into links between Lundin and reported war crimes. In 2016, the CEO and Chairman of the company, Alex Schneiter and Ian Lundin were designated as suspects in the investigation.
‘Infringes on basic human rights of victims’
Formal charges against corporate actors involved in aiding and abetting war crimes are exceptionally rare, but after a decade of investigations the prosecutor is now preparing to bring charges in this landmark case.
According to Lundin Energy shareholder Egbert Wesselink, from Dutch peace group PAX, the company’s defence lawyers have long sought to have the case dismissed or delayed through a “hostile and uncooperative legal strategy” that “infringes on basic human rights of victims”. To address this, he proposed in a motion to the AGM on 30 March 2021:
“… that the company aligns its legal defence strategy with its human rights policy. In human rights cases, its legal counsels will equally defend and protect the right of suspects to a fair trial, and the right of victims of investigated abuses to access to justice and prompt redress. In the ongoing war crimes investigation, this includes immediate and unrestricted sharing with the Prosecution Authority of any information that is relevant to the investigation, and avoidance of delays.”
Powerful institutional investors
Since its very first days in Sudan, Lundin had the backing of powerful institutional investors, including major Swedish banks and state pension funds. Research published by Swedwatch in 2017 shows that many of these actors invested in the company after connections between Lundin and war crimes were made public.
“The fact that these investors are not acting on the serious allegations against the company makes you question if and how they assess how their investments impact human rights,” says Swedwatch Programme Officer Olof Björnsson.
In recent years, many Swedish investors have reduced their holdings in Lundin, but a number of international investors, including major British and American banks and pension funds, continue to own shares in Lundin and support the company’s management and its policies.
When the trial starts, it will send a strong signal to these and other investors, to identify and address their exposure to human rights risks, especially regarding extractive companies who operate in conflict zones.
“Swedwatch welcomes a legal process that can shed light on the company’s alleged involvement in the atrocities of the oil war in Sudan. The victims of the war in the Lundin concession area have waited decades for justice,” added Björnsson.
- Focus Areas: High-risk and conflict areas
- Industry: Energy
- Publication: Article
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29 November, 2022
Swedwatch’s key considerations for socially responsible public procurement
Strengthen the EU public procurement directive from 2014 and make it mandatory to enforce human rights requirements in public contracts. This is one of ten key considerations in a new position paper by Swedwatch, calling on European and Swedish politicians to better utilise public procurement as a tool to mitigate and prevent human rights and environmental impacts in supply chains.
The economic value of public procurement – more than 2 trillion EUR per year or 14 percent of total GDP – makes it a strategic and important area for sustainable development. Not least in countries with low enforcement of human rights and lack decent working conditions and environmental protection, where many products purchased by the public sector are being produced.
For more than a decade Swedwatch has worked on the topic of public procurement, highlighting human rights impacts in public sector supply chains and showed how sustainable public procurement can be used as a tool for positive change. However contracting authorities are not utilising the full potential of socially responsible public procurement.
"Although some contracting authorities enforce and strategically monitor human rights requirements, 55 percent of procurement procedures in the EU use lowest price as the only award criterion, indicating neglect of sustainability aspects. This needs to change; sustainable procurement should be the norm for the public sector", says Linda Scott Jakobsson, public procurement specialist at Swedwatch.
To shed light on what is needed to enhance and utilise public procurement as an effective tool to support sustainable development across EU member states, Swedwatch has identified ten key considerations for decision-makers in the EU and Sweden. These include the need for a strengthening of the 2014 EU directive on public procurement and aligning it with the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights with the aim to safeguard human rights and protect the environment in the producing countries.
Swedwatch also suggests that the proposed EU directive of Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence should apply to all companies including SMEs and provide the possibility for procurers to exclude suppliers not compliant with the directive’s objectives. See the full list of considerations in the position paper.
"With the right preconditions, the public sector could really take a lead on this important issue", says Linda Scott Jakobsson.
Watch our webinars on sustainable public procurement within pharmaceuticals, textile and electronics Download the position paper:
Although some contracting authorities enforce and strategically monitor human rights requirements, 55 percent of procurement procedures in the EU use lowest price as the only award criterion.Swedwatch's key considerations
To the EU Commission:- Revise the Public Procurement Directive and make sustainability considerations mandatory.- Ensure alignment between the Public Procurement Directive and human rights standards.- In relation to the EU directive of Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence (CSDDD); widen the scope to include SMEs and require contracting authorities to ensure that suppliers comply with CSDDD obligations.- Increase transparency around suppliers’ compliance.- Build capacity among contracting authorities in EU member states.
To the Swedish Government and political parties:- As individual Swedish contracting authorities are considered front-runners in a global context, the Swedish government should take lead by aligning its national procurement legislation with the UNGPs and incorporate human rights considerations as mandatory requirements.- The Government and MEPs should actively support the revision of the EU Public Procurement Directive in order to level the playing field for supplying companies.
More on the topic:
Report: Agents for Change – how public procurers can influence labour conditions in global supply chains. Case studies from Brazil, Pakistan and Thailand (2016)
Report: The Health Paradox - environmental and human rights impacts from pharmaceutical production in India and the need for supply chain transparency (2020)
Report: Trapped in the Kitchen of the World – the situation for migrant workers in Thailand’s poultry industry (2015)
Follow-up report: Healthier Procurement – Improvements to working conditions for surgical instrument manufacture in Pakistan (2015)
Article: Swedwatch calls for EU pharma strategy to protect rights and environment
See more from Swedwatch on public procurementPress contact:+46 (0)70 932 92 49ami@swedwatch....
Policy paper
17 November, 2022
New Swedwatch briefing calls on sport sponsors to uphold human rights
Companies that use sport sponsorships to advertise their products or services have an important role to play in preventing and mitigating human rights impacts. A new briefing by Swedwatch urges these companies to learn lessons from the World Cup in Qatar by incorporating human rights in future sponsorship agreements.
The terrible situation for thousands of migrant workers making the 2022 FIFA World Cup possible has gained a lot of attention. But the debate on sports and human rights did not start with Qatar. Many major sporting events have been hosted in countries heavily criticised for their human rights record.
None of these events could have been held successfully without the many corporate actors involved; from constructions companies building the arenas and hotels, the companies in the hospitality sector that staff them, to airlines, security firms and media companies that broadcast them.
Swedwatch’s briefing zooms in on one type of corporate actor: the sport sponsors. These companies build their image and increase profits by associating their brands with sports associations, teams or events.
"Sport is also business. And sponsorship agreements are in that sense no different from other business relationships. This means that companies have a responsibility to address adverse human rights impacts connected to the sports events, teams or associations they decide to sponsor", says Olof Björnsson, researcher at Swedwatch and author of the briefing.
Through sponsorship agreements sporting events become part of the company value chain, which means that, according to the United Nations Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights (UNGPs) companies should conduct what is called Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) to proactively assess actual and potential human rights risks – and act on these risks.
Swedwatch calls on sponsoring companies to conduct rigorous HRDD throughout the entire value chain, both during the preparation and implementation of events and in ongoing dialogue with workers and other stakeholders, including human rights defenders. Swedwatch also urges regulators to put in place binding due diligence rules that encompass sport sponsorships and can hold companies accountable in case of wrongdoing.
"Lessons must be learned from Qatar. To avoid that future sporting events are held at the expense of people in vulnerable positions, corporate sponsors must ensure that human rights play a prominent role in the preparation for and implementation of these events", says Olof Björnsson.
Swedwatch has been working on the issue of sport sponsorship and human rights since 2014 and has published several reports and briefing papers on the subject (see "more on the topic" right).
Testimonials from migrant workers with experience from QatarI worked for several months without any pay (…) I had to start bringing money from Bangladesh to pay for food and accommodation. My family had to sell more land to pay for me to survive in Qatar. My family is still in debt repaying the costs of my migration. /Khalid, migrant worker from Bangladesh.
I only received EUR 190 per month in wages and no overtime. After 11 months, the company took my ID and bought me a return ticket. I did not want to go home so I ran away and hid in the jungle nearby (...) When the police caught me, I had no work permit, so I was sent home. /Mominul, migrant worker from Bangladesh.See the complete quotes and read more about Khalid and Mominul, as well as testimonials from other migrant workers, in the briefing.Read the full briefing:
Sponsorship agreements are in that sense no different from other business relationships. This means that companies have a responsibility to address adverse human rights impacts connected to the sports events, teams or associations they decide to sponsor.Our recommendations to sport sponsors:
1. Conduct HRDD throughout the entire value chain, including sport sponsorships, to map actual and potential human rights impacts, and address the findings.
2. Ensure that rights holders have access to effective, accessible and transparent grievance mechanisms where they can raise complaints.
3. Ensure that HRDD is conducted in consultation with affected stakeholders or credible civil society actors.
Human rights impacts in the migration cycle (click 👇🏽 to enlarge):
Expressen´s World Cup Podcast: Swedwatch about the situation for migrant workers
More on the topic:
Briefing: The 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia: Sponsorship and human rights
Report: Human rights on thin ice – the Swedish Ice Hockey Association and it´s sponsors, and the World Cup in Belarus (in Swedish)
Report: The Olympic Violations – the Olympic Games in Sotji, sport sponsors and human rights (in Swedish)Press contact:+46 (0)70 932 92 49ami@swedwatch....
Article
Civic space
6 November, 2022
Call for a just transition with human rights at the centre
The climate crisis is among the most critical and complex issues our planet and its people face. COP27 offers a defining moment to accelerate the transition away from fossil fuels. But this transition will fail if it focuses only on being fast, and not also just.
A transition to low-carbon and renewable energy is necessary to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and limit global warming. But the energy transition must be environmentally sustainable, socially just and equitable. It must be founded on the principles of human rights and protect the rights of communities and indigenous people – including the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) – whose lives are affected by renewable energy infrastructures.
Research from Swedwatch and other organizations has shown that the production of renewable energy in low-income countries is often connected to negative impact on both the environment and people, and that this is very rarely recognized by states or companies. For instance, affected communities seldom get compensation or remedy. This sector is also one of the most dangerous ones to work with for environmental rights defenders who often face threats and violence.
"The just transition framework needs to place affected and marginalized communities at the centre of the global transition to a clean energy future. The energy transition must also be inclusive of communities by providing them with access to modern energy services. Inclusive development and poverty reduction should be priorities from the outset, and clean energy should be made accessible to all groups in society. Local communities should be empowered to share the socio-economic benefits of renewable energy projects", says Davide Maneschi, programme officer climate change at Swedwatch.At COP27, being held from 6-18 November in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, Swedwatch will arrange a side event together with Swedish Society for Nature Conservation (SSNC) focusing on just transition and the importance of putting indigenous people and local communities at the centre of energy transition processes. The event will centre around cases from Africa that will be presented by African CSOs, including Swedwatch’s partner IMPACT (Indigenous movement or Peace Advancement and Conflict Transformation), an indigenous rights organization which has been working with human rights and social inclusion in Northern Kenya for over 20 years.
"Human rights, land rights, environmental rights and community interests should be at the centre of just energy transition processes. The just energy transition process should not burden communities, displace them from their lands or be a source of conflict", says Mali Ole Kaunga, founder and director of IMPACT.Swedwatch calls on world leaders, businesses and governments to actively promote responsible renewable energy by recognizing that human rights are central to climate change mitigation and adaptation. See more in our information sheet.
The just energy transition process should not burden communities, displace them from their lands or be a source of conflict.Join Swedwatch´s official COP27 side event "Social and Environmental Justice in the Energy Transition: Lessons from Africa" on Wednesday 16th November at EET 15:00-16:30. The event will be livestreamed.Enabling access to international arenas is a fundamental part of Swedwatch’s work to support rights defenders. At our side event at COP27, indigenous defender Ramson Karmushu from our partner organisation in Kenya will be one of the speakers.
⇒ Read the full interview with Ramson Karmushu.
More on the topic:
Open letter: Swedwatch, together with over 200 other organisations, released an open letter calling the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and State parties to put human rights at the centre of the energy transition discussion at COP27.
In the run up to COP27 Swedwatch and several other organisations signed a petition, expressing a great concern about the human rights situation in Egypt and in particular the government’s restrictions on the rights to freedom of expression, and that it could undermine a successful, inclusive and participatory climate summit.
Article: Stockholm+50 must demonstrate progress towards environmental and climate justice
Policy paper: Time for Swedish leadership in a carbon free export finance
Press contact+46 (0)70 932 92 49ami@swedwatch....
Article
Supply chains
2 November, 2022
Speaking up for indigenous peoples at COP27
Enabling access to international arenas is a fundamental part of Swedwatch’s work to support human rights and environmental defenders and amplify the voices of vulnerable groups. At Swedwatch´s side event at COP27 in November, indigenous defender Ramson Karmushu from our partner organisation in Kenya, will be one of the speakers addressing the need for a just energy transition.
Due to dependence upon the environment and its resources, many indigenous communites are hit hard by climate change and thus have a crucial interest in supporting urgent climate actions. Yet, there is a risk that indigenous people are left behind if the transition away from fossil fuels focuses only on being fast, and not also just. Ramson Karmushu, who represents the Indigenous Movement for Peace and Transformation in Northern Kenya (IMPACT) is himself Masai and works directly with indigenous communities currently affected by the rapid expansion of renewable energy in the region.
"To be able to discuss those issues at international forums is important. COP27 is an opportunity for me to bring forward how indigenous peoples and other local communities are affected by climate change, and also by the measures taken to curb it."
IMPACT is a grassroots social movement active in the Northern Frontiers of Kenya – including in Laikipia, Isiolo, Marsabit, Samburu and parts of Turkana County – home to a considerable proportion of the country's indigenous peoples.
He explains that renewable energy projects such as wind power built on indigenous land has caused harm and conflict since communities are not consulted and get no compensation for lost resources, nor do they benefit from the projects and many still lack electricity. At COP27, Ramson Karmushu says he will also discuss how indigenous peoples and other local communities are now trying to combat climate change effects and that "the little actions matter."
"Indigenous peoples need support on a global scale to protect the planet. I hope that by discussing this in person on arenas where it matters, and with the right audience, we will be able to influence a great change."
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Swedwatch's official COP27 side event
Swedwatch´s and the Swedish Society for Nature Conservation´s (SSNC) joint COP27 side event, taking place in Sharm el-Sheikh at November 16, will focus on just transition and the importance of putting indigenous people and local communities at the centre of energy transition processes. The event will centre around cases presented by African CSOs, including IMPACT (above) and South African environmental justice group Groundwo...
Article
Supply chains
11 October, 2022
Proposed ban on forced labour products fails to put workers at its heart
Today Swedwatch, together with 72 civil society organisations, coalitions and trade unions, signed a reaction statement highlighting shortcomings of the European Commission's proposal for a Regulation on prohibiting products made with forced labour on the Union market.
With the significant rise in modern slavery according to the newly released 2021 Global Estimates, the undersigned organisations welcome the European Commission’s legislative proposal. Meaningful action and laws to tackle the exploitation of workers around the world are urgently needed. Yet, the Commission’s proposal is not enough for the 17.3 million people in forced labour in the private sector and the 3.9 million people in state-imposed forced labour.
The proposal is an essential step toward building a smart mix of tools to help eliminate forced labour across the world, as per EU commitments. The statement particularly welcomes the wide scope of the proposal – that it covers all products from all regions and all company sizes, big and small.
However, the proposal falls significantly short of its potential and fails to put workers at its heart. The undersigned organisations therefore call upon the European Parliament and EU Member States to improve the proposal where it is missing its purpose, whilst building on its key positive elements. Key issues for improvement that the statement highlights include:
The need for victim remediation to be included as a central objective of the instrument
The need to allow for other enforcement measures – in particular the confiscation of products – rather than simply and only the destruction of products, requiring a very high evidentiary threshold to satisfy
The need to place the onus of proof on companies rather than authorities in proving that their products are not made with forced labour (a regime similar to the Deforestation Regulation where companies must prove their products are “deforestation free” before importing)
The need to ensure that simple and tick-the-box due diligence measures (such as audits) are not accepted as reliable evidence and ground for preventing/ending an investigation
The need for EU authorities to more actively engage with workers & stakeholders during investigations
The need to allow for regional bans, particularly for instances of State-imposed forced labor and not only product-specific bans
The need to allow bans on production facilities rather than only product-specific bans
The need for meaningful company obligation to map and disclose their supply chains
The need for supportive accompanying measures for victims and stakeholders
The need for measures to ensure confidentiality, anonymity and safety of complainants and workers
Read the full reactions statement, including recommendations on how to effectively address th...
