Three human rights groups today filed a complaint with the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) detailing environmental and human rights harms at Glencore’s Badila oil operations in Chad. Glencore is one of the world’s largest natural resource companies and is listed on the London Stock Exchange. The filing marks the first time that Glencore is facing an OECD complaint in the UK...

The complaint to the OECD, on behalf of approximately 18,000 local residents affected by the Badila’s operations, was filed by UK-based corporate watchdog RAID and Chadian organisations the Public Interest Law Center (PILC) and the Association of Young Chadians of the Petroleum Zone (Association des Jeunes Tchadiens de la Zone Petroliere - AJTZP)...

[T]he human rights groups have communicated their concerns and the adverse impacts on local residents to Glencore UK and PetroChad Mangara, and met their representatives at the company’s office in London. But lack of concrete action and remedy by Glencore UK to date has led them to file the OECD complaint...

Glencore refutes that the wastewater spills posed a health risk to local communities. It said that the September 2018 wastewater from the basin was predominately rainwater and that it was found to be “within the limits required by the International Finance Corporation’s performance standards.” RAID pointed to results that exceeded these standards and noted that more than half of IFC’s criteria were not tested. Glencore said it would review its water testing protocols.