French oil giant TotalEnergies is being sued in Paris by 26 Ugandans, together with five Ugandan and French aid groups, for reparations over alleged human rights violations at its massive mega-projects in the East African country. People from the affected communities in Uganda say the energy firm caused “serious harm”, especially to their rights to land and food. The complaint also says that some villages suffered flooding caused by construction at the Tilenga project’s oil treatment plant, the associations further alleged. Not only many affected families were not appropriately compensated, “several plaintiffs suffered threats, harassment and arrest simply for daring to criticize oil projects in Uganda and Tanzania and defend the rights of affected communities,” the rights groups added. Friends of the Earth and four Ugandan associations failed in a 2019 bid before a French court to force TotalEnergies to halt Tilenga and EACOP.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 28, 2023 05:25 UTC