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Shell ‘must act on oil spills’ in the Niger Delta, say campaigners

Shell is sustaining fresh reputational damage over its role in oil spills in the Niger Delta,ahead of its annual meeting tomorrow.

By Rob Davies

PUBLISHED: 22:22, 20 May 2012 | UPDATED: 22:22, 20 May 2

Shell is sustaining fresh reputational damage over its role in oil spills in the Niger Delta,ahead of its annual meeting tomorrow.

Campaign group Amnesty International has enlisted actor Hakeem Kae-Kazim,star of TV series 24 and the film Hotel Rwanda, to publicise the issue.

Kae-Kazim, who is due to star in a film about the Niger Delta called Black November, said:‘Shell cannot keep ducking the issue.

‘They have a direct responsibility to clean up the mess of the Niger Delta and the net is closing on them.’

He said Shell should ‘properly compensate the thousands of people who have seen their livelihoods destroyed and their health ruined by the numerous oil spills in the Niger Delta.

The Anglo-Dutch supermajor says that it is responsible for 30 per cent of spills in the region,with the remainder caused by oil theft,  known as ‘bunkering’.

The company does not provide compensation for communities affected by spills for which it does not admit culpability.

The waterways of the Delta are blighted by oil slicks that kill off fish stocks and cause pollution that devastates struggling communities in the region.

Shell boss Peter Voser is expected to face questions from the floor about its environmental performance at Tuesday’s annual meeting in The Hague.

A delegation of North American indigenous people is expected to attend to protest against Shell’s involvement in the controversial ‘tar sands’ method of oil extraction.

And environmental groups including Greenpeace will criticise Shell for its eagerness to join in exploration in the delicate ecosystem of the Arctic.

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