Nolan
14th July 2010, 01:40
http://www.ecosonline.org/reports/2010/UNPAID_DEBT_fullreportweb.pdf
SUMMARY
From 1983 to 2005, Sudan was torn apart by a civil war
between the Government and Southern armed groups.
Oil was a factor in the outbreak and exacerbated war
from the mid-1990s. This report is concerned with the
injustice perpetrated on victims and the role of oil companies
and their home governments during the oil wars.
In 1997, the Swedish oil company Lundin Oil AB (“Lundin”)
formed a consortium with Petronas Carigali Overseas
Sdn Bhd (“Petronas”) from Malaysia, OMV (Sudan)
Exploration GmbH (“OMV”) from Austria, and the Sudanese
state-owned oil company Sudapet Ltd., hereafter
referred to as the Lundin Consortium or the Consortium.
They signed a contract with the Government for the
exploitation of oil in the concession area called Block
5A that was not at that time under full Government control.
The start of oil exploitation set off a vicious war in
the area. Between 1997 and 2003, international crimes
were committed on a large scale in what was essentially
a military campaign by the Government of Sudan to
secure and take control of the oil fields in Block 5A. As
documented in this report, they included indiscriminate
attacks and intentional targeting of civilians, burning
of shelters, pillage, destruction of objects necessary
for survival, unlawful killing of civilians, rape of women,
abduction of children, torture, and forced displacement.
Thousands of people died and almost two hundred
thousand were violently displaced. Satellite pictures
taken between 1994 and 2003 show that the Lundin
Consortium’s activities in Block 5A coincided with a
spectacular drop in agricultural land use.
The actual perpetrators of the reported crimes were the
armed forces of the Government of Sudan and a variety
of local armed groups that were either allied to the
Government or its main opponent, the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Nonetheless, the
evidence presented in this report calls into question the
role played by the oil industry in these events.
IN BRIEF
What is this report about?
The death of thousands of people and violent displacement
of almost 200,000 others between 1997 and 2003,
when the exploitation of oil Block 5A in Southern Sudan
by an international consortium of companies set off a
vicious war for control over the oil fields in the area. The
victims of this war have the right to be fully compensated
for their losses, but up to now the oil companies
have largely ignored this right. This must be rectified.
ECOS believes that these international oil companies,
as a matter of international law may have been complicit
in the commission of war crimes and crimes against
humanity. Consequently, ECOS questions whether the
Governments of Austria, Malaysia and Sweden fulfilled
their international obligation to prevent the occurrence
of human rights violations and international crimes when
they failed to act after receiving credible indications that
decisions made on their territory allegedly contributed
to violations of human rights, exacerbated war, and allegedly
contributed to the commission of international
crimes.
What happened?
From 1983 to 2005, Sudan was torn apart by a civil
war between the Government of Sudan and a variety of
armed forces, mostly in the southern part of the country.
During this war, in 1997, the members of a consortium
led by the Swedish oil company Lundin signed a
contract with the Government for the exploration and
production of oil on the fault line of Sudan’s war zone, in
the oil concession area called Block 5A which was not
at that time under full Government control. Lundin was
the lead partner and operator of the Consortium. The
prospect of oil production gave the up to then relatively
quiet area a strategic significance and it became a focal
point of the civil war. A vicious war broke out for control
over the oil fields in Block 5A between the Government
and SPLA-supported armed groups.
The war followed a similar military logic as the later war
in Darfur: the Government, through a variety of tribal
militias, the country’s army and air force, and Arab muraheleen
units, fought all real and potential rivals on the
ground and cleared away the population. The Government
of Sudan used artillery, ground troops, helicopter
gunships, and high-altitude bombers against the civilian
population. Almost 200,000 civilians were deliberately
forced off their lands and thousands died. Most prominent
among the reported crimes were arbitrary attacks
on civilians, unlawful killing, arson, looting, rape, enslavement,
underage recruiting, torture, and theft. The
forced displacement was motivated by the desire to
secure the oil fields for the purpose of oil exploration.
The Canadian Government Mission to Sudan concluded
in January 2000, “The underlying reality is that there has
been, and probably still is, major displacement of civilian
populations related to oil extraction. Furthermore, oil has
become a major focus of the fighting.”3
SUMMARY
From 1983 to 2005, Sudan was torn apart by a civil war
between the Government and Southern armed groups.
Oil was a factor in the outbreak and exacerbated war
from the mid-1990s. This report is concerned with the
injustice perpetrated on victims and the role of oil companies
and their home governments during the oil wars.
In 1997, the Swedish oil company Lundin Oil AB (“Lundin”)
formed a consortium with Petronas Carigali Overseas
Sdn Bhd (“Petronas”) from Malaysia, OMV (Sudan)
Exploration GmbH (“OMV”) from Austria, and the Sudanese
state-owned oil company Sudapet Ltd., hereafter
referred to as the Lundin Consortium or the Consortium.
They signed a contract with the Government for the
exploitation of oil in the concession area called Block
5A that was not at that time under full Government control.
The start of oil exploitation set off a vicious war in
the area. Between 1997 and 2003, international crimes
were committed on a large scale in what was essentially
a military campaign by the Government of Sudan to
secure and take control of the oil fields in Block 5A. As
documented in this report, they included indiscriminate
attacks and intentional targeting of civilians, burning
of shelters, pillage, destruction of objects necessary
for survival, unlawful killing of civilians, rape of women,
abduction of children, torture, and forced displacement.
Thousands of people died and almost two hundred
thousand were violently displaced. Satellite pictures
taken between 1994 and 2003 show that the Lundin
Consortium’s activities in Block 5A coincided with a
spectacular drop in agricultural land use.
The actual perpetrators of the reported crimes were the
armed forces of the Government of Sudan and a variety
of local armed groups that were either allied to the
Government or its main opponent, the Sudan People’s
Liberation Movement/Army (SPLM/A). Nonetheless, the
evidence presented in this report calls into question the
role played by the oil industry in these events.
IN BRIEF
What is this report about?
The death of thousands of people and violent displacement
of almost 200,000 others between 1997 and 2003,
when the exploitation of oil Block 5A in Southern Sudan
by an international consortium of companies set off a
vicious war for control over the oil fields in the area. The
victims of this war have the right to be fully compensated
for their losses, but up to now the oil companies
have largely ignored this right. This must be rectified.
ECOS believes that these international oil companies,
as a matter of international law may have been complicit
in the commission of war crimes and crimes against
humanity. Consequently, ECOS questions whether the
Governments of Austria, Malaysia and Sweden fulfilled
their international obligation to prevent the occurrence
of human rights violations and international crimes when
they failed to act after receiving credible indications that
decisions made on their territory allegedly contributed
to violations of human rights, exacerbated war, and allegedly
contributed to the commission of international
crimes.
What happened?
From 1983 to 2005, Sudan was torn apart by a civil
war between the Government of Sudan and a variety of
armed forces, mostly in the southern part of the country.
During this war, in 1997, the members of a consortium
led by the Swedish oil company Lundin signed a
contract with the Government for the exploration and
production of oil on the fault line of Sudan’s war zone, in
the oil concession area called Block 5A which was not
at that time under full Government control. Lundin was
the lead partner and operator of the Consortium. The
prospect of oil production gave the up to then relatively
quiet area a strategic significance and it became a focal
point of the civil war. A vicious war broke out for control
over the oil fields in Block 5A between the Government
and SPLA-supported armed groups.
The war followed a similar military logic as the later war
in Darfur: the Government, through a variety of tribal
militias, the country’s army and air force, and Arab muraheleen
units, fought all real and potential rivals on the
ground and cleared away the population. The Government
of Sudan used artillery, ground troops, helicopter
gunships, and high-altitude bombers against the civilian
population. Almost 200,000 civilians were deliberately
forced off their lands and thousands died. Most prominent
among the reported crimes were arbitrary attacks
on civilians, unlawful killing, arson, looting, rape, enslavement,
underage recruiting, torture, and theft. The
forced displacement was motivated by the desire to
secure the oil fields for the purpose of oil exploration.
The Canadian Government Mission to Sudan concluded
in January 2000, “The underlying reality is that there has
been, and probably still is, major displacement of civilian
populations related to oil extraction. Furthermore, oil has
become a major focus of the fighting.”3