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OILWATCH AFRICA statement on SUDAN By
JOINT STATEMENT ON THE SITUATION IN SUDAN We, the participants at the Oilwatch Africa Conference holding in Yaounde, Cameroon from March 25th to 28th 2002, representing communities affected by oil and gas exploration and exploitation, NGO members of the Oilwatch Network and other African national and international NGOs; Having listened to country report from the Sudanese delegation; Taking cognizance of the precarious conditions of the local communities affected by the ongoing civil war, which is intensified and aggravated by the oil exploration and extraction; Having observed with dismay the continuous destruction of human life, through killings, displacement etc; Call upon the oil companies engaged in the harmful business; such as Talisman of Canada, Petronas of Malaysia, China National Petroleum Company, Lundin of Sweden and Switzerland and other companies involved, their respective home governments, the international financial institutions that support them and the Sudanese government to stop this destructive and inhuman oil business in the Sudan until a just peace is achieved. We appeal to the NGOs, members of the civil society and all peace loving people to advocate and lobby at all levels to see to it that this deplorable situation is addressed. Done in Yaounde, this day March 28,2002 Signed: 1. Samuel Nguiffo, Centre for Environment and Development, Yaounde Cameroon 2. Asume Osuoka, Oilwatch Africa, Port Harcourt, Nigeria 3. Fr. Georges Loemba Ndende, Justice et Paix, Pointe Noire, Congo 4. Duke Atangana Etotogo, La Nouvelle Presse, Cameroon 5. Guy Kadji, Challenge Nouveau, Douala, Cameroon 6. Dr. Tiani Keou Francois, Enviro Protect, Douala, Cameroon 7. Garka Boukinebe Peugomba, Commission Permanente Petrole de N'djamena (CPPN), N'djamena, Chad 8. Dian-Donne Kumbaht, Aventures Sans Frontiers, Libreville, Gabon 9. Ardiel Soeker, GroundWork, South Africa 10. Mauricio Sulila, Livaningo, Maputo, Mozambique 11. Nnimmo Bassey, Environmental Rights Action/Friends of the Earth, Nigeria, Benin City, Nigeria 12. Esparanza Martinez, Oilwatch International Secretariat, Quito, Ecuador 13. Ndengar Michel, RESAPIME, Sahr, Chad 14. Justine Mane, CIEFE, Yaounde, Cameroon 15. Ndi Omgbwa Felix Devalois, BUBINGA, Yaounde, Cameroon 16. Beyene Chantal, Cameroon 17. Djerelar Miankeol, Commission Permanente Petrole Local, Moundou, Chad 18. Moyombaye Urbain, Entente des Populatios de la Zone Petroliere-EPOZOP, Moundou, Chad 19. David Passe, Ligue Tchadienne de Droit de L'Homme (LTDH), Moundou, Chad 20. Pikum Sittiprasertkun, Small Fishing Community Integrated Development Project, Thailand 21. Gopal Dayaneni, Project Underground, San Francisco, USA 22. Allan Lassey, Third World Network-Africa, Accra, Ghana 23. Noble Wadzah, Friends of the Earth, Ghana, Accra, Ghana 24. Mokom Oliver, Catholic Relief Services, Yaounde, Cameroon 25. Kuenzop Pedeme Dupleix, Service Ecumenical Pour La Paix, Yaounde, Cameroon 26. Didier Amougou, Planet Survey, Yaounde, Cameroon 27. Ndoumbe Nkotto, FOCARFE, Cameroon 28. Raphael Yimga Tatchi, Centre for Environment and Development/Friends of the Earth-Cameroon, Yaounde, Cameroon 29. Ebenezer Tabot Tabot, Centre for Environment and Rural Transformation, Limbe, Cameroon 30. Simon Lewis, Reclaim the Street, London, UK ----------------------------- STATEMEMT from the Oilwatch Africa Conference on Government Responsibility, Corporate Accountability, and Community Resistance in the Oil and Gas Mining Sector March 25-28, 2002 Yaounde, Cameroon We, representatives of communities affected by oil and gas exploration and exploitation, NGO members of the Oilwatch Network and other African national and international NGOs, meeting in Yaounde from 25-28th of March, 2002, at the Oilwatch Africa Conference on Government Responsibility, Corporate Accountability and Community Resistance in the Oil and Gas Mining Sector have observed that: 7 There is currently an intensification of oil and gas exploration and exploitation onshore and offshore all over the world, particularly in Africa. 7 Oil and gas exploration and exploitation is not a tool for sustainable development, but is rather the cause of human rights abuses, environmental and ecological devastation, impoverishment of communities, war, militarization, civil conflict and many other negative impacts. 7 Oil and gas exploration and exploitation leads to the consolidation of power by multi-national corporations, transnational financial institutions and national ruling elites, while taking power away from the people. 7 Oil and gas exploration and exploitation causes and exacerbates civil conflict and war, as demonstrated by the cases of Sudan, Angola, Congo Brazzaville and Nigeria. 7 Voices of communities affected by oil and gas "development" are systematically excluded from international fora and their interests are excluded from these processes, such as in the case of the World
Summit on Sustainable Development. 7 The increase in militarisation in oil and gas producing areas is a source of repression, assassinations and massacres of peoples opposed to these projects. 7 The oil and gas industry is inherently un-transparent and encourages massive corruption in Southern producer countries, particularly in Africa. 7 Most oil revenues in African countries are misused by governments and do not benefit the people or the national economies. 7 Oil and gas dependence has led African countries to ignore or neglect other means of economic production as well as important national issues such as education, health, food and housing. 7 Rivalries centred around oil revenues has led to political instability and permanent insecurity and have favoured the emergence and development of parallel economies. 7 By forcing African countries to open up to oil and gas development, international finance institutions contribute to a cycle of debt and dependence. 7 International financial institutions have discouraged the adoption and implementation of strict, legally binding regulation of the oil and gas sector. 7 International financial institutions, Northern governments and transnational oil and gas companies force African Countries to weaken or abolish laws and regulations on the oil and gas industries and this leads to the violation of community rights. There are no meaningful, internationally enforced regulations of the multinational oil and gas industry or the public and private financial institutions, which fund their projects.
Because of these myriad negative impacts, we affirm the right and effectiveness of non-violent community resistance to oil and gas projects in Africa.
We further recommend: 7 A shift in the development models of African countries to one of reduced importance of oil and increased support for sustainable development. The first step should be to adopt a moratorium on all new oil and gas exploration on the continent. 7 A moratorium on all oil and gas exploration and exploitation in war and civil conflict zones. We call for particularly urgent action in the case of Sudan and Angola. 7 Suspension of all public and private international funding of oil and gas projects. 7 Community voices be privileged and their interests prioritised at international fora that address any issues concerning the oil and gas sector or development concerns. 7 Strong social and environmental regulations be adopted and strictly implemented by local and national governments, and by international economic and political institutions on all past and present oil and gas projects including restoration of lands impacted by these projects. April 2002 OILWATCH AFRICA CONFERENCE ON GOVERNMENT RESPONSIBILITY, CORPORATE ACCOUNTABILITY AND COMMUNITY RESISTANCE IN THE OIL AND GAS MINING SECTOR Yaounde, Cameroon, 25-28 March, 2002
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