Shell+Oil+Campaign

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=**//Write to His Excellency Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua, The President of Nigeria//**=

//Your Excellency,
 * //To: His Excellency Alhaji Umar Yar’Adua,//****//President of the Republic of Nigeria,//** **//Office of the President,//** **//Aso Rock//****//Abuja, Federal Capital//** **//Territory,//** **//NIGERIA//**

I am concerned about the devastating impact of pollutionand environmental damage, with the oil industry, on thehuman rights of people in the Niger Delta. Oil pollutionhas pushed many communities deeper into poverty.I welcome the establishment of the Ministry of NigerDelta Affairs in September 2008 but it is not enough:• Undertake a comprehensive clean-up of all oilpollution in consultation with affectedcommunities• Ensure that assessment of the social and humanrights impacts of all oil and gas projects ismandatory for both current and future projects.

Yours sincerely,

Your name.// = =

Write to Peter Voser, The Chief Executive of Shell Oil
To: Mr Peter Voser,Chief Executive Royal Dutch Shell, P.O. Box 1622501 AN, The Hague, The Netherlands.

Dear Mr Peter Voser,

I am concerned about the devastating impact that pollution and environmental damage, associated with the operations of Shell, is having on the human rights ofpeople in the Niger Delta, Nigeria. Shell has failed to take effective measures to address theimpact and environmental damage of its activities in the Niger Delta.

I urge you as the new Chief Executive of Royal Dutch Shell to: • Undertake a comprehensive clean-up of all oilpollution in consultation with affected communities • Disclose all information on the impact of oiloperations on the environment and human rightsin the Niger Delta

Yours Sincerely,

Your name

THE OIL INDUSTRY HAS BROUGHT POVERTY AND POLLUTION TO NIGER DELTA
Women next to an oil wellhead that has been spilling crude oil near the community of Ikot Ada Udo, the Niger Delta, since 2004 © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

The impact of oil pollution in the community of Ikot Ada Udo, Akwa Ibom State, Niger Delta, Nigeria, 30 January 2008 © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

A fisherman with his canoe in Goi, Ogoniland, Nigeria. Oil pollution has damaged crucial sources of livelihood for communities © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

A gas flare at Ughelli West, Delta State, Nigeria, 26 January 2008 © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

The effects on the water of an oil spill in mid 2007, near the community of Goi, Ogoniland, Nigeria, 28 January 2008 © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

Gas flares near Eboucha, Nigeria, 3 February 2008. For years, residents have said that gas flares pose a risk to their health © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

Children near an oil spill in Bayelsa State, Nigeria. The spill is said to have happened in 2006. Shell says it was cleaned up © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR

Oil spill in the village of Ikarama, Bayelsa State, Nigeria, 7 February 2008 © Kadir van Lohuizen/NOOR


 * People living in Nigeria’s Niger Delta have to drink, cook with** **and wash in polluted water; they eat fish contaminated with** **oil and other toxins—if they are lucky enough to still be able** **to find fish. The land they use for farming is being destroyed.****After oil spills the air they breathe reeks of oil, gas and other****pollutants; they complain of breathing problems, skin lesions** **and other health problems, but their concerns are not taken****seriously and they have almost no information about the****impact of pollution.**


 * The greater Niger Delta is one of the 10 most important** **wetland and coastal marine ecosystems in the world and is** **home to some 31 million people. Oil has generated an** **estimated 600 billion since the 1960s. Despite this, the** **majority of the Niger Delta’s population lives in poverty. Their** **environment is heavily polluted with oil, and protesters** **speaking out about this have been violently suppressed and** **killed.**


 * The destruction of livelihoods, the lack of accountability of** **both the government and the oil companies, and the failure of** **the government to invest in development in the area, all feed****the frustration which has increasingly found expression in****conflict—often violent conflict. This has exacerbated the****human rights disaster in the Niger Delta and urgent action is** **vital.**


 * The regulatory system in the Niger Delta is deeply flawed.****While Nigeria has in place laws and regulations that require** **companies to comply with internationally recognised** **standards of ‘good oil field practice’, and some laws and** **regulations to protect the environment—these laws and** **regulations are poorly enforced. Oil companies have exploited** **Nigeria’s weak regulatory system, and their operations are** **characterised by bad practice, specifically failure to take** **appropriate action to prevent pollution and to ensure that** **problems that do occur are addressed properly.**


 * Many areas of the Niger Delta remain polluted because of** **failure by companies to clean up pollution and rehabilitate** **the soil and water.**


 * Amnesty’s report, Petroleum, Pollution and Poverty in the** **Niger Delta was released on the 30 June 2009. It reveals how** **the Nigerian Government has failed to live up to its** **obligation to protect the human rights of its people by** **allowing oil companies to show a shocking disregard for the** **human impact of their activities**