Uganda & Tanzania: NGOs urge banks not to finance proposed oil pipeline due to human rights concerns incl. displacement and loss of livelihoods; incl. responses and non responses from banks
French oil company Total and majority state-owned China National Offshore Oil Corporation (CNOOC) are on the cusp of building the world’s longest heated oil pipeline right through the heart of Africa. According to BankTrack, the proposed 1,445 kilometers, the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) would have disastrous consequences for local communities, for wildlife and for the entire planet. The project threatens to displace thousands of families and farmers from their land. It poses significant risks to water resources and wetlands in both Uganda and Tanzania – including the Lake Victoria basin, which over 40 million people rely upon for drinking water and food production.
The StopEACOP campaign wrote to banks likely to be approached to support the project, urging them not to. The Business and Human Rights Resource Centre did an outreach to the banks that did not respond to StopEACOP's campaign. Sumitomo Mitsui Bank (SMBC) & Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group responded. ICBC, Agriculture Bank of China, Bank of China, China Construction Bank, China International Capital Company, Bank of America & Goldman Sachs did not respond.