In light of Guyana’s recent general elections, a consortium of more than 100 environmental and human rights organisations and eminent persons from around the world have issued a statement calling on ExxonMobil and other oil companies to declare “unequivocally” that they will only conduct business with a lawfully installed government.
In a March 10th release, the Center for International Environmental Law (CIEL), noted the group is expressing solidarity with the people of Guyana and calls for transparency and for all parties to uphold the integrity of the March 2 election outcomes according to applicable law, and for a peaceful transition once an outcome is verified.
The statement pointed out that since the March 2 election, there have been numerous procedural irregularities, unexplained discrepancies and threats against impartial observers. It also reminded of the High Court hearing on March 10 to consider the legal steps needed to reach a verified outcome and observed that in the interim, the situation led to rising protests across the country, resulting in the death of at least one protestor.
The joint statement also called on all involved to protect the rule of law in Guyana and take steps to ensure the safety of the Guyanese people. It urged particular attention to the situation of environmental and human rights defenders who are too often “targeted” in moments of social and political unrest.
Attention was also drawn to the critical role of Guyana’s nascent oil industry in “exacerbating” the political crisis, and it called on ExxonMobil and the other oil companies to “declare unequivocally that they will only conduct business with a lawfully installed government.”
As major oil companies are racing to open up the country as the newest extractive frontier, the statement opined that the oil rush has contributed to threats to human rights and democracy and threatens to reward corruption and repression, with the “fraught” election results as the most recent example.
According to CIEL president, Carroll Muffett, “The turmoil of recent days bears all the hallmarks of the oil curse that has plagued countries and peoples around the world, as the promise of oil wealth turns government into a prize to be captured rather than a duty to be fulfilled. For the vast majority of people in these countries, oil extraction brings not greater development, but greater threats to their freedom, their rights, and their environment. Right now, this false promise is putting democracy and the safety of people across Guyana at risk.” She added, “For that reason, we call on oil companies and those financing the oil boom in Guyana to join the international community in the call for legitimate electoral process and results – and for all involved to heed those calls and ensure a safe, peaceful transition of power.”
The financial sector, including the World Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank, also came in for criticism, the statement continued, for their role in financing “Guyana’s conversion from a net carbon sink into a fossil-dependent economy and a significant source of global emissions.”
Ute Koczy, Finance Campaigner at Urgewald was quoted as saying, “With its involvement in Guyana’s oil and gas development, the World Bank has contributed to the critical situation we now see after the election. Under the World Bank’s assistance, contracts were made between the oil companies and a government that – after a vote of no confidence – should have left office a year ago. Rather than striving for ‘good governance,’ the World Bank has created more instability in an already precarious political situation.”
