Maputo, 11 Oct (AIM) – The French oil and gas company, TotalEnergies, with the support of the Human Rights Department at its headquarters, is promoting a series of awareness-raising sessions on human rights in Mozambique, focusing on the northern province of Cabo Delgado that has been plagued by terrorism since 2017.
According to a note from the company, these initiatives follow on from others in 2022, which “were attended by the Company’s employees, partners implementing the Company’s socio-economic projects in Cabo Delgado, public and private institutions, international organizations, civil society organizations, and multilateral cooperation partners.”
Last week, according to the note, the company, through TotalEnergies EP Moçambique Área 1 Limitada, operator of the Mozambique LNG project based in Cabo Delgado, organized this type of session in the cities of Maputo, Pemba city and the town of Palma, in Cabo Delgado.
“The sessions focused on TotalEnergies’ approach to human rights and on aspects related to human rights and labor, human rights and local communities, and human rights and security”, the company said.
According to the note, the sessions included discussions on identifying potential synergies between different actors to address current challenges and take advantage of existing opportunities for greater promotion of human rights in Cabo Delgado.
The permanent secretary of Palma district, Laurinda Luciano, considers the sessions on human rights to be very important, because “together, and in coordination between the government, the population and the Mozambique LNG project, we can extend human rights issues to all communities in the district.”
For her part, the TotalEnergies Vice President for Human Rights, Carine Coudeville, said that “TotalEnergies is strongly committed to respecting human rights in its activities and to contributing to the well-being of people for responsible and sustainable business development wherever it operates.”
According to Coudeville, the realization of human rights is only possible through a collaborative effort between all stakeholders, at national and local level.
Laila Chilemba, deputy President for Public Affairs and External Communication at TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, cited in the document, said ‘the company will continue to strengthen its links with all stakeholders in the country in order to make its human rights commitments more effective.’
‘We will continue to work in the light of Mozambican legislation and the various international principles that the Company applies, which include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the principles set out in the fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights,’ she assured.
For her part, Ivete Mafundza Espada, Human Rights Officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mozambique, said “we are here to convey the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and ensure that this information reaches the companies,’ he said.
‘We are very pleased to see that this company [TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1] and several others in Mozambique have human rights policies and are developing internal capacity in this area. We should encourage them and give them all the strength to continue doing so,’ she added.
The Mozambique LNG project is the first onshore development of a liquefied natural gas (LNG) plant in the country. The project includes the development of the Dolphin and Tuna fields, located in Area 1 Offshore, and the construction of a plant with two liquefaction units with a capacity of 13.12 million tons per year (MTPA).
(AIM)
Ad/pf (578)
