Ogoni and Royal Dutch Petroleum

MEMORANDUM

To: Michael Belgrade

From: Safana Ghurab

Date: October 8, 2012

Re: Alien tort claim act

Introduction

If the current plaintiffs Mrs. Esther Kiobel and others citizens of the Ogoni Area in Nigeria would have the rights to claim under the Alien Tort Claims Act (“ATCA”) against the Royal Dutch Petroleum for allegation of violations and crimes against humanity as they committed serious inhuman acts against Ogoni people and detention of a lot of leaders and activist in collaboration with the Nigerian military.

Short Answer

Based on the Alien Claims Tort Act and support from the supreme court of justice United states the decision can be made in favor of the plaintiffs against the defendants of oil corporations alleged to be violating the human rights and international law in Nigeria. However, the decision is also based on the statements and proofs that plaintiffs provide in support of their claim.

Discussion

Mrs. Esther Kiobel and a dozen other people, all former residents of the Ogoni area in southern Nigeria want to bring a suit against Royal Dutch Oil Company that stared to work in Nigeria in 1958. Because of the weak safety that company using to extract the gas that causing flare the case and pollute the water and destroyed agricultural land in Ogoni. With a corporation with Nigeria government by buying weapons to the military to torture people live there. In 2003, the people of Ogoni support a human right organization to protect the social tight for the people . Therefore in 2004 the military attacked eight villages shoot them and leaving them homeless. In 2006 leader started to protest near the company as a result for this many leader were taken from their home without any charges and put them in prison without contacting their families.

Business organizations and human rights groups are fighting in the Supreme Court for violations and against crimes. The fight is for whether the victims who are suffering in the local wars and atrocities can take the multibillionaire oil companies to international court and to prove them to be held responsible for the violations and abuses and to fill the cost of lost.

The law to support this fight of violations was made more than two centuries back in 1789. This law is named Alien Tort Claims Act (ATCA) or Alien Tort Statute (ATS) and allows foreigners outside the United States to file lawsuits against individuals or groups for violence torture or criminal activities throughout the globe. This law was the basis that allowed Charles Wiwa to claim oil companies accountable for their violations and atrocities. The oil and mining companies have a history of this lawsuits being filed against the, due to their collaboration with different company government for the growth and security of their business.

Charles Wiwa went to America with a hope to protest against the violations of oil companies in Ogoni, Nigeria in 1996. According to him America was the only country in the world where the rights of other countries can be claimed and corrupt organizations can ...