Attachments
Oil in Uganda: Serious human rights abuses and escalating threats as project development enters new phase
- The Tilenga, Kingfisher and EACOP oil projects in Uganda have caused new harms for human rights, including labour rights violations and environmental degradation. Previously documented patterns of abuses, such as impacts on communities’ land rights, have also continued.
- The growing deployment of security forces around oil sites, particularly in Kingfisher, has led to the most serious violations, such as forced evictions, extortion, and gender-based violence. The fear and suffering created by this environment have been worsened by the actions of CNOOC at the site and a lack of oversight by TotalEnergies, the lead investor in the projects.
- Women face economic exclusion and heightened vulnerability to sexual and gender-based violence. Cases of sexual exploitation committed by members of security forces and company personnel were documented.
- The report extensively documents an uptick in state repression of human rights defenders in 2024.
SEE REPORT HERE
Paris, Kampala, 12 December 2024. The accelerating construction of the EACOP, Tilenga and Kingfisher oil projects in Uganda has ushered in new human rights violations while it aggravated existing ones, a new report reveals. The projects are mainly owned and operated by TotalEnergies and the China National Offshore Oil Company (CNOOC) in cooperation with the governments of Uganda and Tanzania.
A follow-up to 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). It was made possible with Oxfam’s support.
“We are deeply concerned about the latest evolutions in the Albertine. Having displaced thousands of people, oil development is now significantly transforming the realities of local communities. Construction works, high inflation, pressure on land, deployment of security forces, and influx of workers have a considerable, combined impact on human rights. All actors – companies, the government, but also financiers, insurers, and shareholders providing a financial lifeline to the projects – should assess their involvement and take urgent steps to ensure they do not fuel human rights abuses,” said Sacha Feierabend, FIDH’s Senior Researcher on business and human rights.
Local communities and defenders face fear and repression
The most serious abuses are happening around the Kingfisher oil sites, where the Ugandan army, police and private security companies hired by oil businesses have been deployed to “protect the sites”, in the words of the officials themselves. Several cases of sexual exploitation were documented around the Kingfisher site, where military personnel have coerced women into sexual intercourse in exchange for freely selling fish, with company staff doing the same with the promise of jobs.
The army has reportedly carried out repeated arrests, extortion, and blatant mistreatments of community members to enforce restrictions on fishing, crippling the main source of livelihood in the area and instilling fear among residents. Testimonies spoke of hundreds of people evicted at gunpoint by security forces, with one instance during the COVID-19 pandemic affecting 769 people at once, many of whom were never able to return to their village.
CNOOC, as operator of Kingfisher, has a distinct responsibility in contributing to the shrinking civic space, and is taking no adequate measure to address serious violations on its doorstep. TotalEnergies, as the main investor in all the projects including Kingfisher, has failed to uphold its human rights duty to conduct effective due diligence.
The report also reveals an environment where sexual and gender-based violence is on the rise. Near Kingfisher and Tilenga, prostitution of women is described as a growing phenomenon. Underage girls are involved, which constitutes a form of sexual exploitation. The report also points out that women are suffering the most negative consequences of local economic transformations.
“New work opportunities linked to oil have been mainly reserved to young men, while fishing restrictions have taken a toll on a traditionally male economic activity. Women and girls face stronger pressure to provide for their family while being largely excluded from the benefits of oil development,” said Bashir Twesigye, Executive Director at CRED.
Amid a general shrinking of civic space, the rights to peaceful protest and freedom of association are increasingly restricted, with defenders and organisations facing surveillance, online smear campaigns and administrative harassment. Between May and early December 2024, at least 96 activists opposing the oil projects were arrested by Ugandan authorities.
"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.
New abuses and worsening old trends
The report details how TotalEnergies and CNOOC have failed to take effective measures to prevent and remedy new abuses linked to the latest phase of construction. Numerous labor rights abuses were reported among the companies’ subcontractors. Community members who succeeded in getting employed – virtually always in casual, undocumented jobs – have faced months-long delays in wage payments and inadequate safety standards leading to injuries and fatal incidents. Both companies and national regulators seemed aware of the recurring violations.
New environmental impacts have emerged as construction works advance, especially for communities living in close proximity to oil sites. Increased activity in the Murchison Falls National Park is believed to have led to frequent and sometimes deadly incursions by wild animals, creating additional stress and damages for villagers. Moreover, TotalEnergies has left hundreds of compensation requests unaddressed despite the serious damage caused by flooding linked to the construction of the central processing facility in Tilenga.
The companies’ and authorities’ insufficient measures have also left old patterns unresolved. The report shows that previously documented challenges linked to relocation programmes in Tilenga, including cases of inadequate compensations, lack of information and lengthy delays in compensation have continued along the EACOP. The Ugandan government has also begun to expropriate the remaining households in expedited court procedures.
“Article 26 of Uganda’s constitution provides a progressive legal framework that protects the right to private property and limits the state’s power to acquire and take possession of property for public use before paying compensation to the owner. The government has recently attempted to amend this position, and recent court cases have allowed the authorities to get access to contested property as soon as compensation is deposited in court. This has a direct impact on the principle of free, prior and informed consent as well as access to justice for affected communities,” said Michael Musiime, Coordinator for Natural Resource Governance at Avocats Sans Frontières.
Notes to editors:
Detailed maps and an executive summary can be found in the report’s interactive version here.
The report draws on 78 interviews and focus group discussions conducted between February and September 2024, with further data gathered through a system of community observers.