Several activists and NGOs on Tuesday June 27 launched a new legal battle against the French multinational to demand “ repair ” about the ” human rights violations caused, according to them, by its mega oil project in Uganda and Tanzania. This megaproject involves the construction of a huge pipeline linking Lake Albert to the Indian Ocean and the drilling of 400 oil wells.
This new legal action comes four months after the court in Paris ruled “ inadmissible » a first appeal for opponents of TotalEnergies construction sites. This time, the challenge is to show that the French group failed in its duty of vigilance, that is to say that it did not sufficiently identify the risks associated with its activities.
Improper expropriations, insufficient compensation, harassment… these are the damages alleged by the plaintiffs against TotalEnergies. They are 26 Ugandans and five Ugandan and French associations. For Juliette Renaud, campaign manager at Friends of the Earth, these damages could have been avoided if Total had implemented a vigilance plan.
” What you need to know is that even if this pressure and intimidation is often the work of the Ugandan authorities, well Total had this duty of vigilance to identify these risks of violation of the freedom of opinion, expression and demonstrations by community members or human rights defenders. »
The success of this new lawsuit depends on the ability to collect evidence, a difficult task according to Maxwell Atuhura, human rights defender. ” Today, it has become difficult to have access to people affected by Total projects, because you have to ask for authorization from the government. The greatest violation of human rights that we see in Uganda is to see communities deprived of the free use of their land, yet they depend on their land for everything. But, being prevented from meeting witnesses, we are deprived of their testimonies. »
TotalEnergies maintains that its megaproject will bring economic, social and environmental benefits to local populations. The first hearing in this case will take place next December.
Read alsoContested project of the oil group TotalEnergies: what reality in Uganda and Tanzania?