A Senate Judiciary Committee Hearing is taking place next week on ‘Extracting Natural Resources: Corporate Responsibility and the Rule of Law.’ Nnimmo Bassey, Executive Director of Environmental Rights Action and Greengrants Advisor on our West Africa Board and Ka Hsaw Wa, co-founder and Executive Director of EarthRights International will testify on Chevron’s role and liabilities for human rights abuses committed by security forces in Nigeria and Burma. Both well respected activists intend to highlight the connections between undemocratic regimes, poor governance, resource extraction projects, and social and environmental abuses.
Check out the United States Senate Committee on the Judiciary website where you may be able to view a webcast of the hearing.
Click here to view an NPR clip on the Chevron Texaco lawsuit in Ecuador.
Also there’s an article in Newsweek describing how Chevron is going to Washington to threaten Ecuador’s trade status and how plaintiff attorney, Steve Doninger is an old friend of Obama.
Greengrants has supported the Frente de Defensa de la Amazonia (FDA), the plaintiffs in this case. FDA’s Luis Yantza and Pablo Fajardo won the Goldman Prize earlier this year.
RECENT BACKGROUND
Nigeria militants threaten broader ‘oil war’ in delta
Author: AUSTIN EKEINDE
PORT HARCOURT, NIGERIA — Sep 17 2008 Nigerian militants threatened on Wednesday to broaden their “oil war” to offshore oilfields and announced attacks on a crude oil pipeline in the Niger Delta and another Shell-operated facility.
Click here to read the full story at Mail & Guardian Online