Chevron’s current policies and procedures do not provide the level of accountability and transparency necessary to ensure that the company does not exacerbate human rights abuses in conflict-affected countries such as Burma, according to the Conflict Risk Network.

At Chevron’s annual meeting today in San Ramon, California, shareholders will vote on a proposal that calls on the corporation to disclose its criteria for investing in or withdrawing from high-risk countries. Sponsored by the International Brotherhood of Teamsters and other shareholders, the resolution highlights the risks of Chevron’s investments in Burma. The statement by the Teamsters in support of the resolution during the meeting will include comments from the Conflict Risk Network.

According to the Network’s Director, Kathy Mulvey, “There is a high likelihood that revenues from the oil and gas sector in Burma will go to directly fund the military-backed regime. Investment in the oil and gas industry has been directly tied to human rights abuses in the past and has the potential to be tied to atrocities in the future. Chevron should take caution.”

Although international sanctions have limited investment over the last decade, Chevron already has a foothold in Burma. The corporation holds a stake in the Yadana gas pipeline, which transports natural gas from offshore deposits through Burma to Thailand. The construction of the Yadana pipeline itself resulted in egregious human rights violations including forced labor, forced relocations, rape, torture and murder.

Mulvey continued saying that, “Despite these financial, legal, operational and reputational risks, Chevron’s lobbyists have been leading the charge by U.S. business to lift sanctions on Burma.”

Earlier this month, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton’s announced that the United States would be lifting sanctions on Burma in the very near future. The Conflict Risk Network reports that Chevron had 41 registered U.S. federal lobbyists and reported spending $9.5 million to lobby Congress in 2011. The corporation’s lobbying disclosure forms included 23 references to Burma—second only to Halliburton, which had 29.

“Given the prospect of a broad and indiscriminate relaxation of U.S. sanctions on Burma, it is all the more vital that Chevron adopt and implement the accountability and transparency measures for investment and operation in high-risk countries that have been proposed by shareholders,” Mulvey concluded.

Last month, the Conflict Risk Network released a briefing paper on Burma, “Not Open for Business,” warning investors that high risks remain despite initial reforms by President Thein Sein and the electoral victory of Nobel laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. The report highlights the energy sector as a driver of conflict.

Conflict Risk Network—a project of United to End Genocide—is a network of institutional investors, financial service providers and related stakeholders calling upon corporate actors to fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights and to take steps that support peace and stability in areas affected by genocide and mass atrocities. The Network’s goal is to increase such behavior by corporate actors and thereby reduce conflict risk.

The Save Darfur Coalition and Genocide Intervention Network are now United to End Genocide. The organization remains committed to its work to end the crisis in Darfur and bring peace to all of Sudan as well as to end violence in other areas of mass atrocities. The merger creates the world's largest anti-genocide activist organization, with a membership base of hundreds of thousands of committed activists, an unparalleled nationwide student movement, more than 190 faith-based, advocacy and human rights partner organizations, and a network of institutional investors collectively representing more than $3 trillion in assets under management.

EIRIS Conflict Risk Network

EIRIS Conflict Risk Network

EIRIS Conflict Risk Network unites institutional investors, financial service providers and related stakeholders calling upon corporate actors to fulfill their responsibility to respect human rights and to take steps that support peace and stability in areas affected by genocide and mass atrocities. The Network’s goal is to increase such behavior by corporate actors and thereby reduce conflict risk.

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