 
KAIROS' Statement on Talisman Energy's
Intended Sale of its Sudan Assets
1 November 2002
With mixed feelings, KAIROS has received the news of Talisman Energy's
intention to sell its assets in Sudan, a country where oil development
is virtually synonymous with civil war and gross violations of human
rights, and where foreign companies like Talisman are clearly profiting
from armed conflict.
While some of Talisman's shareholders are breathing a sigh of
relief, KAIROS' church-based and socially responsible investors,
together with human rights organizations that have focused their
energies on extractive companies operating in conflict zones, remain
deeply concerned for the people of Southern Sudan. These beleaguered
people bear the scars of a war in which oil development has played
a critical role. The change in Sudan's oil operating partnership
will bring no foreseeable relief.
Talisman's Sudan venture has been a continual target of scrutiny
and protest since investing there in 1998. But the company has blatantly
walked away from its responsibilities in Sudan. Had Talisman listened
to church and other shareholders, and properly incorporated a human
rights framework into its business plan, it might have played a
constructive role in transforming oil development into a force for
peace rather than the instrument of death it has become.
KAIROS and its Sudanese church partners have always maintained that
oil development could have been of great benefit to Sudan, if the
company adopted international human rights standards, an independent
human rights monitoring and reporting process, and provided assurances
that the role of oil production was not exacerbating the conflict.
The company sidestepped these demands and remained obdurate to the
end, refusing to take any real responsibility for the human rights
abuses associated with oil operations.
Actions taken by the company to emphasize professed social and
human rights commitments obfuscated the larger context. Reports
published in 2001 and 2002, to demonstrate compliance with the International
Code of Ethics for Canadian Business, obscured the ugly truth of
human rights atrocities occurring in the oil fields.
Talisman often claimed that another oil company would be less
inclined to respect human rights in Sudan. But it is difficult to
imagine abuses more serious than those already being committed by
Sudanese government forces in concessions licensed to Talisman.
According to reports issued by independent human rights experts,
violations included attacks on civilians by helicopter gunships
re-fueled and re-armed on airstrips on Talisman's concessions, and
the forced displacement and killing of people in concession areas
under exploration.
Despite the company's stated commitment to fund community development
projects through to 2005, expert analysis has demonstrated that
the projects were of little benefit to southern Sudanese anyway,
and were engineered more as a public relations ploy by Talisman.
Moreover, KAIROS' Sudanese church partners have maintained that
Talisman's few development activities were a wholly inadequate response
to the escalating war supported by unmitigated oil production.
Paradoxically, Talisman's bad example may have advanced work in
the area of corporate social responsibility. Other companies will
now weigh offshore venture opportunities against a new set of standards
that place greater emphasis on political risk analysis and human
rights assessments. They will also want to ensure there is no conflict
with their corporate values rather than "managing" negative
publicity through high-priced public relations firms. Irrespective
of its apparently lucrative departure, Talisman will not disappear
from the watch list of responsible investors. Civil litigation on
behalf of Sudanese displaced from the oil fields is ongoing in the
U.S. Activists and lawyers in the U.S. and Canada are apparently
exploring whether Talisman executives and board members could eventually
be charged with crimes against humanity, in view of the newly established
International Criminal Court. The company's activities in Colombia,
another country where armed conflict and systematic human rights
abuses occur, are also under scrutiny.
Talisman's departure from Sudan is an opportunity for the Canadian
government to reflect on its own obligations in the area of international
human rights. The results of a 2001 poll by Vector Research show
that the majority of Canadians want Canada to exercise international
leadership to make companies subject to enforceable corporate accountability
standards. KAIROS and its Sudanese church partners will continue
to call for a suspension of all oil development activities in Sudan
until a just and lasting peace is achieved, and will continue to
monitor the impact of Sudanese oil development and the operations
of foreign companies working there.
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