Christian agency warns of oil exploitation dangers in Sudan

Ecumenical News International

Daily News Service

26 February 2008

ENI-08-0171

By Fredrick Nzwili

Nairobi, 26 February (ENI)--A German Christian humanitarian agency, Sign of Hope, has warned of the consequences of oil exploitation in Sudan, citing possible contamination of surface and ground water by companies prospecting in the south of the country.

"Sign of Hope calls upon the Khartoum government to ensure that oil companies operating in Sudan fully and unconditionally protect the environment, notably surface and ground water, from contamination by toxic chemicals," Klaus Stieglitz, the agency's deputy director, told journalists in Nairobi on 15 February after an eight-day trip to southern Sudan.

Peace accords in January 2005 brought an end to a two-decade long war between Sudan's mainly Christian and animist South and the Muslim and Arab North. Since then, South Sudan has seen an increase in Western companies prospecting for oil.

During its stay in the oilfields of southern Sudan, the Sign of Hope team assessed the situation of human rights in the oilfields of Thar Jath (Unity State).

The team talked to people about the impact of toxic waste on human and livestock health, on local communities as well as on the environment.

In a village close to a newly erected refinery in Thar Jath, a young girl had complained about the bitter taste of water there. "We do not even wash our clothes with this water, as the colours fade away and the fabrics are being destroyed," Stieglitz reported her as saying.

Sign of Hope said the commissioner of Koch in Western Upper Nile had confirmed that in 2006 a total of 27 adults and three children had died as a result of consuming contaminated water. The commissioner, Peter Bol Ruot, said there are currently up to 1000 people who have fallen sick for the same reason, Sign of Hope reported.

The interdenominational agency said residents in the village of Rier had reported that they were forced by representatives of the Khartoum government to leave their original village in 2005 to create room for oil companies to build facilities.

"The residents were evicted from their villages after short notice and were settled in nearby land," Sign of Hope said in a statement.

The agency describes itself as a German-based interdenominational organization for human rights and humanitarian assistance. 

Further information:

Signs of Hope Press Release, 15.02.2008: Sudan - New evidence for serious impact of oil-exploitation on human rights in Southern Sudan - results of a trip to oilfields  

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