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February 21, 2019

U.N. Warns of Oil Company Complicity in South Sudan Mass Atrocities
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A U.N. panel is raising alarm over reports of ongoing mass atrocities in
South Sudan. Experts say oil companies in the resource-rich region could
be complicit in war crimes.

Andrew Clapham: "There are thousands of civilians who have been forcibly
displaced following a scorched-earth policy, in which the parties to the
conflict are attacking the villages, torching the homes, killing
civilians and raping women and girls. … If you are involved in oil
extraction in that area and you are asked to assist one side or the
other, you could be accused of complicity in war crimes."

Three foreign oil companies operate in the region: the Chinese National
Petroleum Company, Petronas of Malaysia and the Indian Oil and Natural
Gas Corporation. The companies own joint projects with state-owned Nile
Petroleum Corporation, known as Nilepet.


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