UpRights prepared an independent expert report assessing the Human Rights Due Diligence (HRDD) process of the Mozambique Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) Project operated by TotalEnergies. This report, commissioned by Justiça Ambiental!, Friends of the Earth Europe, Friends of the Earth, Milieudefensie was published today.

While clear signs indicate that TotalEnergies is considering officially restarting the development of the LNG project it operates in the Northern Province of Cabo Delgado in Mozambique, the independent review conducted by UpRights highlights gaps and omissions in the HRDD assessment conducted in 2020 and in the subsequent Action Plan. The report also points to the significant disconnect between the project’s public commitment in its human rights policy to respect human rights and its actual implementation in the Project’s operations and the human right situation on the ground. While some of the limitations encountered in conducting the process may be related to the COVID-19 pandemic, it does not obliviate the shortcomings identified in the report.

The main area of concern relates to the disregard in the HRDD process of the armed conflict in Mozambique. The HRDD assessment conducted in 2020 and the following Action Plan of TotalEnergies fail to properly prioritize and consider the armed conflict and to conduct heightened HRDD with a conflict-sensitive approach. No justification can be found for such a disregard given that the LNG project has been operating in a conflict-affected area since 2017 and that TotalEnergies became the operator of the project in September 2019. As a result, the human rights due diligence process fails to:

Accurately assess the potential human rights impact of the Project on the security situation of the communities vis-à-vis the insurgents and the Mozambique security forces.

Consider international humanitarian and international criminal law as relevant legal frameworks despite their undeniable relevance to the context of the Project’s operation.

Assess the real risk of being considered complicit in international humanitarian law violations or war crimes allegedly committed by the Mozambican armed forces.

Comprehensively address the issue of gender and conflict as part of any heightened human rights due diligence.

This review was conducted on the basis of documents made publicly available by TotalEnergies. The public scrutiny of the implementation of HRDD by the LNG Project was limited by the unavailability of several important documents as well as the inadequate level of detail and lack of explanation of certain key considerations in the documents available.

Read the Assessment of TotalEnergies’ Mozambique LNG Project Human Rights Due Diligence