Human Rights Watch on Monday urged a halt to a major East African oil project led by French giant TotalEnergies, warning of dire consequences for the environment and local communities.
TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Corporation signed a $10-billion agreement last year to develop Ugandan oilfields and ship the crude through a 1,445-kilometre (900-mile) pipeline to Tanzania’s Indian Ocean port of Tanga.
The East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) has run into strong opposition from rights activists and environmental groups, and faced legal action in France and criticism in the European Parliament.
TotalEnergies says those displaced by the project have been fairly compensated for their land, while measures have been taken to protect the environment.
But HRW says the mega-project will irreparably harm fragile ecosystems, and alleges that some of the 100,000 people expected to be displaced by its development have been poorly treated.
Researchers conducted over 90 interviews in March and April this year, including with 75 displaced families, many of whom said they had received delayed or inadequate compensation.
Others told HRW they were pressured into selling their land....
The Strasbourg-based institution has raised concerns over the wrongful imprisonment of activists opposed to the project, and the eviction of people from their land without adequate compensation.
Five Ugandan and French aid groups as well as 26 Ugandans sued TotalEnergies in Paris last month for reparations over alleged human rights violations at two of its mega-projects in the country, including EACOP.
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