Cultures of Resistance

The Niger Delta in Nigeria is one of the most oil-rich regions in the world. Unfortunately, local residents have benefited very little from the area's natural resource wealth. While multinational energy corporations gain handsomely from the Delta's oil, they also despoil the environment and share their profits with only with a small class of local elites.

In response to this injustice, social movements have fought for decades to protect workers' rights and the environment. They have produced such leaders as martyred activist Ken Saro-Wiwa. In recent years, ongoing activism in the Delta has produced some inspiring victories. However, there is much work left to be done to hold the oil companies accountable. Below is information about what has been happening and how you can get involved in the ongoing struggle.

Wiwa v. Shell: Background

On June 8, 2009, Royal Dutch/Shell agreed to a landmark, $15.5 million settlement of the human rights cases known collectively as Wiwa v. Shell. The suits were filed against the oil company on behalf of relatives of Ken Saro-Wiwa and other Ogoni activists. In 1995, nine prominent activists were executed for their nonviolent organizing against Shell's activities in the Ogoni homeland in the Niger Delta. We are proud to provide funding for the two leading organizations behind the lawsuits: the Center for Constitutional Rights and EarthRights International.

In the 1990s, Nigerians increasingly began to mobilize against the environmental degradation that Shell has steadily wrought on agricultural land and the local water supply since beginning oil production in Ogonliland in 1958. Shell responded by providing arms and financing to government security forces that it knew were violently repressing demonstrations. In 1995, Royal Dutch Shell and its Nigerian subsidiary colluded with Nigeria’s military government to bring about the arrest and execution of the “Ogoni 9,” leaders of the nonviolent Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). The internationally renowned writer and activist, Ken Saro-Wiwa, was among the nine activists executed. It took 14 years of determined campaigning on behalf of Saro-Wiwa's son and other activists to finally achieve justice through the June 2009 legal victory. The following video from the Center for Constitutional Rights profiles the history of these efforts:

Under the public terms of the settlement, Shell paid $15.5 million both to compensate the plaintiffs and to establish the Kiisi (Progress) Trust. According to the Center for Constitutional Rights, the Trust will provide "educational endowments, skills development, agricultural development, women's programs, small enterprise support, and adult literacy" in Ogoniland. After the settlement, Judith Chomsky, cooperating attorney with CCR, remarked that the "struggle to hold Shell accountable has helped establish a principle that goes beyond Shell and Nigeria--that corporations, no matter how powerful, will be held to universal human rights standards." Chomsky further discussed the settlement and its wider implications on Democracy Now!:

Join the Fight!

Despite the legal victory, the struggle in the Niger Delta continues. Activists on the ground in Nigeria need people in other parts of the world to stand in solidarity and to create widespread pressure on the multinational energy corporations. Cultures of Resistance's partner EarthRights International has helped to create the website Shell on Trial. At the site, you can take action in several ways:

• Work alongside international human rights lawyers or assist environmental lawyers.

• Write to the CEO of Shell.

• Join the Hub group or the Facebook cause to show your support.

• Follow the similar case of Chevron in Ecuador.