ARTICLES

Oil on troubled waters: Multi-national corporations and realising human rights in the developing world, with specific reference to Nigeria

Hakeem O Yusuf

Tutor and Doctoral Candidate, School of Law, University of Glasgow, United Kingdom

SUMMARY

This article examines the current state of tension in the Niger Delta of Nigeria. It locates the current unrest in the continued denial of economic, social and cultural rights to the oil-rich communities in the area. The author argues that this denial happened with the complicity and acquiescence of the international community. The Nigerian government as well as multi-national corporations operating in the area have not been responsive to the development needs of the people. The article argues that, although the primary obligation for realising the economic, social and cultural rights of host communities rests on the government, multi-national corporations in developing countries, considering their awesome resources and influence on government policies, should be similarly obligated to respect, promote and protect those rights.

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* LLB (Hons) (Lagos), LLM (Ulster), Barrister and Solicitor (Supreme Court of Nigeria); h.yusuf.1@research.gla.ac.uk. I am grateful to Prof Mashood Baderin for his useful comments on an earlier draft of this article. I also express appreciation to the peer reviewers of the African Human Rights Law Journal for their valuable comments. The usual caveats apply.
1 Preamble to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 10 December 1948 UN GA Res 217 A (III), UN Doc A/810 71 (1948).
2 Eghare Ojiogor, Chief of the Ugborodo community, an oil-rich area in Delta State, Nigeria, quoted in Amnesty International 'Claiming rights and resources: Injustice, oil and violence in Nigeria' http://web.amnesty.org/en/library/info/AFR44/020/2005 (accessed 12 January 2007).         [ Links ]
3 International Crisis Group Swamps of insurgency: Nigeria's Delta unrest (Africa Report 115 2006) http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4310 (accessed 7 January 2007).         [ Links ]
4 International Crisis Group Fuelling the Niger Delta crisis Africa Report 118 (28 September 2006) 6 http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=4394 (accessed 7 January 2007).         [ Links ]
5 E Amaefule 'Nigeria loses N570b to Niger-Delta crisis' The Punch 9 January 2007.         [ Links ]
6 Ch II Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria 1999.
7 Nigeria submitted its ratification to the UN on 29 July 1993 and it entered into force in the country on 29 October 1993.
8 Adopted 27 June 1981, entered into force 21 October 1986, OAU Doc CAB/LEG/67/3 Rev 5, (1982) 21 International Legal Materials 58. Nigeria signed it on 31 August 1982 and ratified it in July 1983.
9 African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights (Ratification and Enforcement Act) ch A9 Vol 1, Laws of the Federation of Nigeria 2004.         [ Links ]
10 BBC News 'Population in Nigeria tops 140m' 29 December 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/6217719.stm (accessed 29 December 2006).         [ Links ]
11 International Crisis Group Want in the midst of plenty Africa Report 113 19 July 2006 http://www.crisisgroup.org/home/index.cfm?id=44 2 74 (accessed 8 January 2007).         [ Links ]
12 D Held 'Democratic accountability and political effectiveness from a cosmopolitan perspective' (2004) 39 Government and Opposition 365-366.         [ Links ]
13 (2001) AHRLR 60 (ACHPR 2001).
14 Energy Information Administration Country analysis briefs: Nigeria 1 http://www.eia.doe.gov/emeul/cabs/Nigeria/Oil/html (accessed 12 June 2006).         [ Links ]
15 n 14 above, 2.
16 BBC News 'Nigeria's shadowy oil rebels' 20 April 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4732210.stm (accessed 13 February 2006).         [ Links ]
17 Human Rights Watch 'The Niger Delta: No democratic dividend' http://www.hrw.org/reports/2002/nigeria3/nigerdelta.pdf (accessed 10 September 2006).         [ Links ]
18Crisis Watch 41 2 January 2006 4 http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/crisiswatch/cw_2007/cw41.doc (accessed 10 January 2007).         [ Links ]
19 BBC News 'Nigerian oil fuels Delta conflict' 25 January 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4617658.stm (accessed 10 January 2007).         [ Links ]
20 Ogoni Bill of Rights http://www.waado.org/nigerdelta/RightsDeclaration/Ogoni.html (accessed 6 January 2007).         [ Links ]
21 Kaiama Declaration (11 December 1988) http://ijawcenter.com/kaiama_declaration.html (accessed 9 February 2008).         [ Links ]
22 Shell Nigeria Press Release 'Shell's submission' (to the Oputa Panel sitting in Port Harcourt Rivers State, Nigeria 23 January 2001) 3 http://www.shell.com/home/content/nigeria/news_and_library /press_releases/2001/2001_2301_01031504.html (accessed 11 September 2006).         [ Links ]
23 Green Peace has led an over two decades-old campaign for justice for victims of the incident. See eg Green Peace Bhopal The world's worst industrial disaster http://www.greenpeace.org/international/footer/search?q= worst+industrial+disaster (accessed 13 September 2006).         [ Links ] For a detailed analysis of the incident, see I Eckerman The Bhopal saga - Causes and consequences of the world's largest industrial disaster (2004).         [ Links ]
24 Union Carbide admits 3 800 died, but twice and even much higher figures (as much as 10 000) have been cited by independent observers, eg, Amnesty International puts the figure at 7 000. See Clouds of injustice- Bhopal 20 years on http://www.amnesty.org/en/library/info/ASA20/01512004 (accessed 13 September 2006).         [ Links ]
25 R Dhara & R Dhara 'The Union Carbide disaster in Bhopal: A review of health effects' (2002) 57 Archives of Environmental Health 391.         [ Links ]
26 Bhopal Information Centre Statement of Union Carbide Corporation regarding the Bhopal tragedy http://www.bhopal.com/ucs.htm (accessed 13 September 2006).         [ Links ]
27 n 22 above.
28 U Idemudia & UE Ite 'Corporate-community relations in Nigeria's oil industry: Challenges and imperatives' (2006) 13 Corporate Social Responsibility and Environmental Management 194.         [ Links ]
29 A Sengupta 'The human right to development' (2004) 32 Oxford Development Studies 179.         [ Links ]
30 Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 1999.         [ Links ]
31 (2002) 6 SC Pt I 1 (179).
32 n 31 above, 69.
33 A Eide 'Economic social and cultural rights' in A Eide et al (eds) Economic, social and cultural rights (2001) 8.         [ Links ]
34 Adopted at San Francisco 26 June 1945; entered into force 24 October 1945 1 UNTS xvi.
35 A Sengupta 'Realising the right to development' (2000) 31 Development and Change 553 554.         [ Links ]
36 Adopted at New York 16 December 1966; entered into force March 1976 GA Res 2200A (XXI) UN Doc A/6316 (1966) 999 UNTS 171.
37 Sec 7 Niger Delta Development Commission Act 2000.
38 Nigeria submitted its ratification on 29 July 1997 and it entered into force in the country on 29 October 1993.
39 n 3 above, 18.
40 (No 2) [2002] 6 NWLR pt 764, 542.
41 For an analysis of the case, see KSA Ebeku 'Nigerian Supreme Court and ownership of offshore oil' (2003) 27 Natural Resources Forum 291.         [ Links ]
42 I Okonta 'The lingering crisis in Nigeria's Niger Delta and suggestions for a peaceful resolution' (2000) http://www.cdd.org.uk/resources/workingpapers/niger_delta_eng.htm (accessed 31January 2008).         [ Links ]
43 Amnesty International (n 2 above) 2.
44 SERAC case (n 13 above) para 53.
45 M Mutua 'The African human rights system: A critical evaluation' http://hdr.undp.org/en/reports/global/hdr2000/papers/mutua.pdf (accessed 31 January 2008).         [ Links ] For a comprehensive exposition of the genesis of the African Charter, see F Ouguergouz The African Charter on Human and Peoples' Rights: A comprehensive agenda for human dignity and sustainable democracy in Africa (2004) 20-48.         [ Links ]
46 SERAC case (n 13 above) para 68.
47 JK Mapulanga-Halston 'Examining the justiciability of economic, social and cultural rights' (2002) 6 The International Journal of Human Rights 29.         [ Links ]
48 Mapulanga-Halston (n 47 above).
49 Suit FHC/B/CS/53/05, Federal High Court of Nigeria, Benin (CV Nwokorie presiding judge) 14 November 2005 (order made 15 November 2005). See 'Nigeria: Court stops gas flaring Shell appeals' The Guardian 15 November 2005.         [ Links ]
50 The full text of the decision and enrolled order of the court respectively are available at http://www.climatelaw.org/cases/country/nigeria/gasflares/2005Nov14 (accessed 10 February 2008). However, see the case of Barr Ikechukwu Opkara & 4 Others (for themselves and as representing Rumuekpe, Eremah, Akala-Olu and Idamah communities of Rivers State) v Shell & 5 Others, Suit FHC/PH/CS/518/05, Federal High Court of Nigeria, Port-Harcourt (unreported, judgment delivered on 29 September 2006). In the latter case, the court upheld the objection that under Nigerian law, human rights were personal and a representative action could not be maintained for its enforcement, specifically rejecting the precedent set in Gbemre. http://www.climatelaw.org/cases/country/nigeria/gasflares/22092006 (accessed 10 February 2008). The decision has been appealed by the plaintiffs.
51 Unreported case, judgment delivered by Justice Okechukwu Okeke, Federal High Court Port Harcourt, Rivers State, Nigeria on 24 February 2006.
52 BBC News 'Shell told to pay Nigeria's Ijaw' 24 February 2006 http://news.bbc.co.uk/-/1/hi/world/africa/4746874.stm (accessed 10 September 2006) and Rhys Blakely and Agencies '$1.         [ Links ]5bn Shell Nigeria fine upheld' http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/market/africa/articles/34579.ece (accessed 6 January 2007).         [ Links ]
53 R Alford 'Case of the month: Shell v Ijaw Aborigines of Bayelsa State (Opinio juris)' http://lawofnations.blogspot.com/2006/02/case-of-month-shell-v-ijaw-aborigines.html (accessed 10 February 2008).         [ Links ]
54 SERAC case (n 13 above) 11-12.
55 Eide et al (n 33 above). See also JS Gibson Dictionary of international human rights law (1996) 135-136 and Sengupta (n 29 above) 554.
56 See eg Paramand Katra v Union of India [1989] AIR 1989 SC 2039: 1990 Cvi LJ 671 and Bandua Mukti Morcha v Union of India [1984] AIR 1984 SC 802. See also the High Court decision in Mahendra Pratap Singh v State of Orissa [1997] AIR 37.
57 D Aguirre 'MNCs and the realisation of economic, social and cultural rights' (2004) 35 California Western International Law Journal 53 53.
58 K Nowrot 'New approaches to the international legal personality of MNCs: Towards a rebuttable presumption of normative responsibilities' http://www.esil-sedi.eu/english/pdf/Nowrot.pdf (accessed 10 September 2006).         [ Links ]
59 J Bengoa Existence and recognition of minorities Commission on Human Rights Sub-Commission on the Promotion and Protection of Human Rights, Working Group on Minorities (6th session, 22-26 May 2000) 9.         [ Links ]
60 n 59 above, 10.
61 Aguirre (n 57 above) 54.
62 C Backer 'Multi-national corporations, transnational law: The United Nations norms on the responsibilities of transnational corporations as a harbinger of corporate responsibility in international law' (2005) 37 Columbia Human Rights Law Review 287 highlights the growing scholarly debate on the issue in recent times.         [ Links ] The article also comprehensively discusses the implications of the Norms on the regulatory relationship between states, MNCs and international institutions.
63 Aguirre (n 57 above).
64 K Bennoune 'Towards a human rights approach to armed conflict' (2004) 11 University of California Davis Journal International Law and Policy 171 180.         [ Links ]
65 SR Ratner 'Corporation and human rights: A theory of legal responsibility' (2001-02) 111 Yale University Law Journal 443 449         [ Links ]
66 UNCTAD World Investment Report 2002: TNCs and export competitiveness, Geneva, United Nations.         [ Links ]
67 M Koenig-Archibugi 'Transnational corporations and public accountability' (2004) 39 Government and Opposition 234 235.         [ Links ]
68 J Nolan 'Human rights responsibilities of transnational corporations: Developing uniform standards' (paper presented at the ANZIL Conference 18-20 June 2004, Canberra, ACT) (on file with author).         [ Links ]
69 Aguirre (n 57 above) 54-55.
70 Nowrot (n 58 above) 4.
71 Ratner (n 65 above).
72 See eg Ratner (n 65 above); TF Maassarani et al 'Extracting corporate responsibility: Towards a human rights impact assessment' (2007) 40 Cornell International Law Journal 135.         [ Links ]
73 Nolan (n 68 above) 3.
74 See E Palmer 'Multi-national corporations and the social contract' (2001) 31 Journal of Business Ethics 245 for an extensive discussion of the fundamentals of the 'contractarian' theory.         [ Links ] He argues that 'reason requires that the activities of enterprises accord with standards of environmental and governmental sustainability in addition to consortium, national law and international agreements'.
75 M Zurn 'Global governance and legitimacy problems' (2004) 39 Government and Opposition 260 268: 'International regimes for overcoming global environmental problems are typical examples here.         [ Links ] The ultimate addressees of regulations issued by international institutions are largely societal actors. While the states act as intermediaries between the international institutions and the addressees, it is ultimately societal actors such as the consumers and businesses who have to alter their behaviour in order, say, to reduce CO2 or CFC emissions.'
76 M Loughlin Sword & scales: An examination of the relationship between law and politics (2000) 145-147.         [ Links ]
77 Held (n 12 above).
78 Loughlin (n 76 above) 140-144.
79 Aguirre (n 57 above) 54-5.
80 Koenig-Archibugi (n 67 above) 238-245.
81 Zurn (n 75 above) 262.
82 Zurn (n 75 above) 265-266.
83 C Hillemanns 'UN norms on the responsibilities of transnational corporations and other business enterprises with regards to human rights' (2003) 4 German Law Journal 1055.         [ Links ]
84 However, see G Kell 'The global compact: Selected experiences and reflections' (2005) 59 Journal of Business Ethics 69 71-73 for the view that the UN cannot achieve a monitory/enforcement model and that such model is in any case undesirable.         [ Links ]
85 UN Doc E/CN.4/Sub.2/2003/12/Rev 2 (2003).
86 S Tripathi 'International regulation of multi-national corporations' (2005) 33 Oxford Development Studies 117 122.         [ Links ]
87 Koenig-Archibugi (n 67 above) 246.
88 Koenig-Archibugi (n 67 above) 258.
89 L Senden 'Soft law, self-regulation and co-regulation in European law: Where do they meet?' (2005) 9 Electronic Journal of Comparative Law 1 27 http://www.ejcl.org/91/art91-3.PDF (accessed 8 February 2008).         [ Links ]
90 J Rehman International human rights law: A practical approach (2003).         [ Links ]
91 P Malanczuk Akerhurst's a modern introduction to international law (1997) 54-55.         [ Links ]
92 H Hillgenberg 'A fresh look at soft law' (1999) 10 European Journal of International Law 499.         [ Links ]
93 OECD Watch 1 April 2003 http://www.germanwatch.org/tw/kw-inl01.pdf (accessed 4 April 2006).         [ Links ]
94 Aguirre (n 57 above) 57.
95 Aguirre (n 57 above) 56.
96 Ratner (n 65 above) 463.
97 S Chesterman 'Oil and water: regulating the behaviour of multi-national corporations through law' (2004) 36 New York University Journal of International Law and Policy 308.         [ Links ]
98 F Viljoen & L Louw 'The status of the findings of the African Commission: From global persuasion to moral obligation' (2004) 48 Journal of African Law 1 18.         [ Links ]
99 Nolan (n 68 above) 3.