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Article

30 Dec 2009

Author:
Hugh Williamson, Financial Times

Time to redraw the battle lines

It is dusk in London and Amnesty International has mobilised hundreds of protesters in its campaign against Shell’s allegedly damaging business practices in the Niger Delta...Their aim is to draw attention to huge oil spills and gas flaring that, they say, are ruining the health and livelihood of many in this troubled corner of Nigeria. For Amnesty, the world’s best-known human rights watchdog, the march last month was part of its biggest ever campaign against a single company. The campaign is the flagship of the group’s expanded focus on poverty and other economic issues. Shell, which sees itself at the vanguard of best practice in the business human rights debate, rejects Amnesty’s claims. Amnesty’s activists are hardly alone in pointing a finger at what companies get up to far from home. Multinationals are in the spotlight over their – according to critics – patchy record on protecting the rights and livelihoods of those they work with, especially in developing countries and conflict zones. In some ways, this is familiar territory...But there are signs from Amnesty and beyond that the heat is being turned up again and that companies must brace themselves for greater scrutiny.