Corporate Accountability

All companies have a responsibility to respect human rights in their operations. Human rights abuse are particularly high in the extractive industry. This is not surprising, given the impact that such operations have on land and water resources.

Amnesty's work on business and human rights aims to change law and regulations to ensure that companies are accountable for the human rights impacts of their operations.

Shell

For a company whose logo is the shell of a giant clam, a marine and freshwater creature millions of years old, it's ironic that Royal Dutch Shell is so cavalier about the pollution of watercourses that its operations frequently cause.

In the Niger Delta in Nigeria, Shell's half-century of oil extraction has poisoned rivers, mangrove swamps and farming lands, and impoverished whole communities that depend on these natural resources for their survival.

In the video above Pastor Christian tells the story of the people of Bodo Creek after a massive oil spill from a Shell pipeline in 2008

This is a David and Goliath struggle for justice by poor people who've had their lives and livelihoods turned upside down by one of the world's biggest multinational companies.

• Find out more about Shell's practices in the Niger Delta 
• Read our report on the impact of pollution in the Niger Delta (pdf)

Lubicon Cree - Campaign update

Canada is now officially supporting the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. In a public statement on November 12, John Duncan, the federal Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development said: "Canada has endorsed the Declaration to further reconcile and strengthen our relationship with Aboriginal peoples in Canada."

The test of the government's sincerity will be how it now deals with the outstanding human rights concerns facing Indigenous peoples in Canada. Such as the situation of the Lubicon Cree.

• More on the Amnesty Canada's website
• Take action in solidarity with the Lubicon Cree
  

Demand justice for the Lubicon Cree

In Little Buffalo, Alberta, Canada, the Lubicon Cree indigenous people have been battling for three decades for the right to control their lands and hold to account the oil, gas and logging companies that have devastated their environment.

Large-scale logging, followed by oil and gas extraction, have all but destroyed the traditional way of life of the Lubicon Cree.

• Demand justice for the Lubicon Cree
• Find out more about the Lubicon Cree on the Amnesty Canada website
• On Facebook? Join the Support the Lubicon Cree group