Lundin accused of war crimes in Sudan
The Swedish oil company, Lundin Petroleum, which is involved in the oil find at Avaldsnes in the North Sea, has been accused of war crimes in Sudan. SV is now calling for the company to undergo a thorough investigation.
Lundin Petroleum owns 40% of the Avaldsnes field where the giant oil find was revealed last week. According to Dagbladet, the Swedish prosecution authority is now undertaking a preliminary investigation into allegations that the company has been involved in serious breaches of human rights in Sudan.
Fifty voluntary organisations stand behind a report which claims that Lundin’s Sudan operations render the company jointly responsible for breaches of international law, that they led to the escalation of war in an area where these operations were taking place and contributed to both Sudanese government soldiers and militias committing serious violations against the local population.
SV’s spokesman on environmental policy, Snorre Valen, is calling for an investigation of the company and believes the issue should be discussed internally within the government. He also believes that the Oil Fund should react.
“SV is to consider the exclusion of Lundin Petroleum from the Oil Fund, which currently has 274 million kroner invested in the company. Lundin’s involvement in serious violations in Sudan would be in breach of the Oil Fund’s ethical guidelines” says Valen.
He also believes the company should not be allotted new blocks on the Norwegian continental shelf as long as it is under investigation.
Lundin Petroleum has previously denied the allegations and does not wish to comment further on the case.
Translated from Norwegian article.
- Database Search
- Unpaid Debt A comprehensive overview of the role of the Lundin Consortium in the oil war. ECOS calls upon the Swedish, Austrian and Malaysian governments to investigate whether, as a matter of international law, Lundin, OMV and Petronas 'were complicit in the commission of war crimes and crimes against humanity by others during the period 1997-2003.’ In response, the Swedish Public Prosecutor for International crimes opened a criminal investigation into ‘links between Sweden and the reported crimes’.
- In Depth For more specific information about the Lundin court case please visit the Unpaid Debt dossier.
