North American Indigenous join Africans to target Shell at COP 17

Indigenous Environmental Network's

Tom Goldtooth speaks at the conference.

Photo: Langelle/GJEP

Media Alert  
COP17: Indigenous activists from North America join African activists to target Shell
Nov. 30, 2011
Who?
Indigenous activists from the Indigenous Environmental Network (including Tom Goldtooth, director) and youth from the Canadian Youth Climate Coalition (Daniel T'seleie, from an impacted Indigenous community) join activist Bobby Peek (winner of Goldman Environmental Prize) from groundWork in Durban and Nnimmo Bassey (winner of the Alternative Nobel Prize) from Environmental Rights Action in Nigeria.

What?           
The group of activists will hold a brief demonstration outside of the Shell co-owned refinery in South Durban, with banners and visuals. 

Meanwhile in Alberta, Canada, Indigenous leaders will rally at Shell's Canadian headquarters, and activists in the United Kingdom will hold a rally and press conference at Shell's UK headquarters. T

his is done in conjunction with a court action to sue Shell in Canada for violations of human rights to Indigenous communities. Following the action at the Shell refinery in Durban, there will be a press conference beside the ICC, venue for the UN climate talks.
 
Why?
In Canada, Shell has violated agreements made with Indigenous communities that were meant to protect their ecosystems, and thus impacted their protected rights and culture. Shell is also planning to massively expand its projects and begin new oil projects in the Tar Sands deposits in Northern Alberta, which the community of Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation has decided they will not allow. Meanwhile in Durban their refinery has been harmfully impacting local citizens for years, tied to numerous leaks and reports of disease and sickness amongst residents. Across other parts of Africa, Shell has been implicated in gross human rights violations and environmental devastation.

When?           
November 30, 2011. The action will be held at the Shell refinery, followed by a press conference at 2pm.
 

Location: "Speakers Corner"
(Intersection of Machel and Fisher Across from Hilton, directly outside the ICC COP17 venue)

Speakers listed above will address the press conference. A press release and photos from the action will be freely released after the action is completed.