Final Statement notification Odoh family vs de Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited
The Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) has finalized the notification of the Odoh Family regarding alleged violations of the OECD Guidelines by the Shell Petroleum Development Company of Nigeria Limited (SPDC).
The notification concerns alleged violations of the OECD Guidelines’ chapters Human Rights, Environment, Concepts and Principles, and General Policies. The notifying party claims that SPDC did not act in line with local laws and regulations regarding the acquisition of land and water, did not adequately engage the Odoh family in the acquisition process, and compromised the right to property and use of land and water. The Odoh family has also indicated that oil spills have led to a negative impact on their livelihood as e.g. fishery was no longer possible.
On February 10, 2022, the NCP accepted the notification and offered its good offices to both parties. The enterprise has rejected the NCP’s good offices. Subsequently, the NCP further examined the specific instance and published its findings in the Final Statement. In addition, the NCP assessed the enterprise’s progress regarding its observance of the OECD Guidelines, as the NCP received three consecutive notifications within four years directed at this enterprise concerning similar issues. The NCP finds that the enterprise conducts insufficient meaningful stakeholder engagement, lacks an adequately functioning operational-level grievance mechanism and could have better cooperated with the NCP. The NCP recommends to ensure the contaminated land and lake are remediated, as well as, with regard to the sale of SPDC, to ensure that all past adverse impacts are remedied.
In line with its procedure, the Dutch NCP will conduct a Follow-Up one year after the publication of the Final Statement, to evaluate any developments in relation to the recommendations.
Although Shell Headquarters moved to the United Kingdom on 31 December 2021, the British and Dutch NCP have decided that the Dutch NCP will proceed and finalize this notification.