NGOs condemn human rights violations in Uganda-Tanzania oil pipeline project

International human rights organizations are alleging "serious human rights violations" near a major oil pipeline project being built in Uganda and Tanzania by the French company TotalEnergies in partnership with the Chinese company CNOOC.

The most serious abuses have been reported near the Kingfisher oil fields, where the Ugandan army, police and private security companies hired by oil traders have been deployed to protect the areas.

Several cases of sexual abuse against civilians have been recorded near the Kingfisher area, where soldiers have forced women to have sex in exchange for freely selling fish, while company employees have done the same to civilians with the promise of employment.

Similarly, a 100-page report released by a coalition of international human rights and environmental organizations states that ordinary citizens are being forcibly evicted from their farms, their rights are being violated, they are being tortured and they are facing little security, while the construction of the pipeline continues.

Reports say that Ugandan soldiers have allegedly beaten and harassed fishermen near Lake Albert, where the oil is found, but they are also sexually abusing women and causing these people to live in fear. Dozens of environmental activists have been arrested so far in Uganda protesting against the project. 

Ugandan government spokesman Chris Baryomunsi has denied the allegations made in the report, saying they are completely untrue.

The $10 billion project includes the extraction of crude oil and the construction of a 1,443-kilometer pipeline from Hoima in Uganda to the Port of Tanga in Tanzania.