Anna, 77
Total came and divided our family.
Join us in taking legal action against Total!
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AN OIL MEGAPROJECT IN THE GREAT LAKES REGION OF AFRICA
In 2006, large oil reserves were discovered in the heart of Murchison Falls, a protected natural park in Uganda. Total has acquired the shares of the British oil company Tullow to develop a project of colossal magnitude, together with the Chinese company CNOOC.
Total will drill more than 400 wells, enabling the extraction of around 200 000 barrels of oil per day. Worse still, a 1445 km long giant heated pipeline will be built to transport the oil, impacting regions in Uganda as well as in Tanzania.
In all, 10 billion dollars have been invested into this disproportionate oil project.
However, civil society mobilisation can make the difference: in the very same Great Lakes region, Total has given up oil drilling in the Virunga natural park, in the Democratic Republic of Congo. It is unacceptable that the same transnational corporation launches a similar project at the same time in Uganda, just on the other side of the border.
Even before the site becomes operational, the impact on local populations is already far-reaching. Already, 118,000 people have been totally or partially evicted in Uganda and Tanzania.
What does this oil megaproject really consist of?
1. The "Tilenga" project, operated by Total:
- Development of 6 oil fields: more than 400 wells will be drilled on 34 well pads (one third within the Murchison Falls natural park), allowing for production of 200 000 barrels per day; the first drillings have started in July 2023;
- Construction of an industrial area including a central processing plant (“CPF" / oil plant) on the outskirts of the park in Buliisa district.2. A refinery and an airport built by the Ugandan government.
3. A mega-pipeline (East Africa Crude Oil Pipeline or “EACOP”), built together by French oil major Total, Chinese company CNOOC and the Tanzanian and Ugandan governments, spanning 1445 km from the refinery to the port of Tanga in Tanzania.
4. Other related infrastructures built by Total, its partners and the government, primarily:
- A water abstraction system to use Lake Albert's water to meet the needs of the oil wells;
- A combined network of 180 km of pipelines, even passing under the Nile, to transport either oil and gas, or water;
- Oil waste management, storage and treatment facilities;
- New roads to facilitate the growth of the oil industry.
TOTAL IS CHARGED WITH...
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VIOLATING HUMAN RIGHTS
Millions of people are at risk because of the construction and development of these oil projects and their related infrastructures. Already, 118,000 people have been totally or partially evicted in Uganda and Tanzania.
In Uganda and Tanzia, according to collected testimonies:
- Many families have been intimidated to force them to abandon their lands, thereby completely disrupting their way of life.- Communities have already lost the right to freely cultivate their lands before receiving any compensation, leaving entire families with no livelihoods. They could no longer afford to buy their own food, nor benefit from their harvest, for a period of up to 4 years.
- Those who have received compensation are fiercely contesting the amount, saying that it is not enough to buy new land and crops of equivalent value.
- Children had to drop out of school as parents could no longer afford to pay the fees.
Local communities depend primarily on agriculture and fishing for their livelihood, sectors which are directly threatened by this megaproject. If no action is taken, tens of thousands of lives will be destroyed with complete impunity.
Listen to their testimonies:
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ENDANGERING CLIMATE AND ENVIRONMENT
Follow the progress of the work via satellite images on our interactive investigative map, developed by Mémoire Vive and Friends of the Earth France: eacopmap.org
Tilenga is being developed in the heart of a natural protected area which harbours outstanding ecosystems.
It is a sanctuary for fragile biodiversity and home to more than 500 animal species, some of which are endangered: lions, elephants, hippopotamuses, giraffes, warthogs, as well as numerous species of bird.
Furthermore, Lake Albert, one of the Nile's sources, falls in the very zone where Total plans to drill for oil. The contamination of the river Nile (which is one of the two longest rivers in the world) could have drastic consequences for its fauna and for the local communities who depend on fishing for their livelihood.
As for the EACOP pipeline, it will cross numerous fragile ecosystems, as well as the Lake Victoria basin, Africa's largest freshwater reserve, on which 40 million people depend. And at the end of the pipeline, an oil port and oil infrastructure have begun to be built at Tanga in Tanzania, in the middle of marine protected areas, in a zone at risk of tsunamis and cyclones.
And the climate?
Limiting the global temperature rise to 1.5° is indispensable for the survival of humanity and of our planet. This type of oil project is not only a direct threat to the environment but also contributes greatly to climate disruption leading us straight towards disaster. Each tenth of a degree matters. We must stop this project from going ahead if we want to prevent climate chaos.
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CONTINUING TO PLUNDER AND STRENGTHEN CONTROL OVER AFRICA
Total is the successor of Elf, a former French public oil company that was bought out by Total despite being mired in corruption scandals and having executives who had been convicted in court.
Today, the growing belief is that the influence of French companies in Africa is reducing, to make way for capital from other countries, in particular China. However, business seems good for Total, not only in its private reserve of former French colonies but more and more outside too, including in authoritarian states like Uganda. Total is the main operator of this oil megaproject in an English-speaking country.
And law enforcement?
By merging with Elf, Total not only acquired the former's market shares but also gained a powerful influencing tool. Total knows how to bend the rules, with the obliging help of dictators and leaders, including the French government.
Read our investigation on the complicity of the French State.
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HOW CAN WE WIN THIS FIGHT?
For many years, Friends of the Earth France has been actively involved in dismantling the power of transnational corporations and has been at the heart of the fight for adoption of the French corporate duty of vigilance law, passed finally in 2017. Survie supported this legislative battle, paving the way for a new type of legal proceedings, and joins forces with Friends of the Earth France to condemn one of the French corporations responsible for the plunder of Africa's natural resources.
Total is one of the 25 biggest transnational corporations in the world and, thanks to its business being divided into thousands of subsidiaries, franchises and subcontractors, it has rarely faced legal sanctions.
The new French law challenges this very system: finally, parent companies of transnational corporations can be held responsible for human rights abuses or any environmental degradation caused by their activities, in France or abroad.
For several years, we have been investigating the situation on the ground with our partners, to shed light on the violations committed by Total in connection with this new oil project in Uganda and in Tanzania.
We have thus collected documents and testimonies which point to Total's responsibility. The evidence is piling up.
With this specific case, we would like to ensure the correct implementation of this new law. It allows us to seek justice before any damage is done, to prevent Total from putting at considerable risk or causing irreversible damage to local communities, biodiversity, environment and climate. And above all, if the violations are proven in court, this law enables us to oblige the company to repair the damage done and to pay compensation to the affected communities.
Total is a very powerful transnational corporation and this legal battle will stretch over many years. They will try everything to make us give up. Which is why your support is indispensable. Citizen power can help us face Total and see justice done.
The stages of the procedure:
- June 24, 2019: Friends of the Earth France, Survie and 4 Ugandan civil society organizations (AFIEGO, CRED, NAPE/Friends of the Earth Uganda and NAVODA) served a formal notice to Total, pointing out their failure to comply with the corporate duty of vigilance law. Total had three months to reply and to meet its obligations: develop, publish and most importantly effectively implement these measures in order to prevent environmental and human rights abuses in their project in Uganda. See our press release of June 25th 2019 (in French only).
- September 24, 2019: At the end of the legal three-month period, Total responded to our formal notice denying any problems in its vigilance plan and practices in Uganda. However, the situation on the ground continues to be dramatic. See our press release of September 26th, 2019 (in French only).
- October 23, 2019: We filed a lawsuit against Total before the Nanterre Tribunal de Grande Instance. This is the very first legal action under the French law on duty of vigilance. In view of the urgency of the case, we have referred it to the judge in charge of summary proceedings. See our press release of October 23rd, 2019.
- December 12, 2019: The hearing was held at the Nanterre High Court. Given the importance of the case, it has been judged in a collegial formation (3 judges instead of one). See our press release of December 12, 2019.
- Since they returned to Uganda after the hearing, the two members of the affected communities who came to France to testify in court are facing increasing threats and intimidations. See FIDH urgent appeal and our joint press release of December 26th, 2019.
- January 30th, 2020: Nanterre civil court issued its ruling, considering the case fell in the jurisdiction of the commercial court. The court hasn't ruled on the substance so this decision does not in any way delegitimize our accusations against Total. See our press release of January 30th.
- March 16th, 2020: We filed our appeal in a context of a slowed-down justice because of the coronavirus crisis. See our article of March 25th.
- October 28, 2020: Hearing at the Versailles Court of Appeal. On this occasion, we publish a new investigation that reveals that violations of community rights persist and now affect more than 100,000 people in Uganda and Tanzania.
- December 10, 2020: The Versailles Court of Appeal confirms the first instance decision giving jurisdiction to the Commercial Court. We decide to appeal to the Supreme Court. See our press release of December 10, 2020.
- Harassment and intimidation of opponents of the project intensify in Uganda, with arrests of members of our partner association AFIEGO in May and October 2021.
- December 15, 2021: The Court of Cassation rules in our favor, recognizing the jurisdiction of the civil court of Nanterre. The merits of the case will finally be examined. See our press release of December 15, 2021.
- December 7, 2022: a new first-instance hearing takes place, this time before the Paris civil court, now exclusively competent for cases based on the duty of vigilance law. More than 200 people - journalists, academics, legal experts, CSOs, activists - attended the hearing. See our press release.
- February 28, 2023: the court dodges the issue, declaring our lawsuit inadmissible on controversial procedural grounds. See our press release.
- June 27, 2023: 26 affected people from Uganda, the human rights defender Maxwell Atuhura and five Ugandan and French civil society organizations (AFIEGO, Friends of the Earth France, NAPE/Friends of the Earth Uganda, Survie and TASHA Research Institute) take Total to court again, on the basis of the duty of vigilance law. See our press release and press kit, as well as the video with testimonies from plaintiffs:
Testimonies
Citizen mobilizations
Latest news
To go further
Field investigation: A nightmare named Total (2020)
Enquête : Comment l’État francais fait le jeu de Total en Ouganda (2021) - only in French
Report: Serious breaches of the duty of vigilance law: the case of Total in Uganda (2019)
Rapport : Manquements graves à la loi sur le devoir de vigilance : le cas Total Ouganda (2019)