The NGO European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) on Tuesday filed a complaint with France’s national anti-terrorism prosecutor accusing French energy firm TotalEnergies of being complicit in war crimes committed in the southeastern African country of Mozambique.
The alleged abuses, which are said by ECCHR to have taken place at TotalEnergies’ liquefied natural gas project in restive Cabo Delgado province, include the torture and killing of dozens of civilians.
What do we know about the complaint?
The complaint centers on alleged abuses committed between July and September 2021 by soldiers belonging to a joint task force (JTF) that was deployed to protect the Cabo Delgado gas site.
The JTF, paid by TotalEnergies under an agreement with the government, was made up of Mozambican armed forces, with the alleged actions taking place following a jihadi attack on the site that led to operations being suspended there.
Online media outlet Politico has reported that soldiers working for the site locked up to 250 civilians in containers for three months, accusing them of supporting the jihadis.
The civilians were beaten, tortured or killed, and only 26 survived, Politico said.
“Internal documents show that TotalEnergies was aware of accusations of violence against civilians being committed by Mozambican armed forces from May 2020, yet continued its support to the JTF,” the ECCHR said in a statement.
“TotalEnergies knew that the Mozambican armed forces had been accused of systematic human rights violations, yet continued to support them with the only objective to secure its own facility,” said Clara Gonzales, ECCHR’s co-program director for business and human rights.
“Companies and their executives are not neutral actors when they operate in conflict zones: if they enable or fuel crimes, they might be complicit and should be held accountable,” she was quoted as saying in the statement.
Last year, TotalEnergies stated it had not been aware of any torture allegations at its evacuated site and that its employees left in April 2021 and did not return until November 2021, after the alleged events took place.
TotalEnergies under investigation for other failings
TotalEnergies is still under a separate investigation by French prosecutors for allegedly failing to assist people in danger during the 2021 Islamist attack and evacuation.
No charges have yet been filed, and Total has denied wrongdoing.
The company was also accused by Mozambican and international NGOs last month of holding the country “hostage” with its demand for “ultra-favorable” conditions to restart the project, in which it holds a 26.5% stake.
Its new budget plan for reopening the site in 2029, which has yet to be approved by authorities, includes cost overruns to the tune of $4.5 billion (€3.9 billion) that are to be covered by the Mozambique government.
Edited by: Elizabeth Schumacher
