What: Impacted communities, civil society organisations, and environmental activists in Uganda and Tanzania will hold actions to raise awareness about the harmful East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and demand that TotalEnergies drop EACOP and pay reparations for the damage it has caused. Activists also plan to call on the Chinese government and its state-owned banks and insurance firms not to support the proposed East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) development and will make additional demands of the Ugandan government to prioritise decentralised renewable energy developments instead.
When/Where:
- In Uganda, the actions will take place in Hoima and Kampala on 26th August
- In Tanzania, the actions will take place in Tanga on 29th August.
Why: The EACOP project threatens local communities, water resources, biodiversity, and efforts to curb climate change while providing little to benefit ordinary Ugandan and Tanzanian people. Already, tens of thousands of people along the pipeline’s route and near its associated oil drilling sites have been forcibly displaced, losing their land, livelihoods, and traditional ways of life. Many have been relocated to inadequate homes on infertile land, making it impossible to grow crops or sustain their families. Others have received inadequate compensation or none at all, leaving them unable to rebuild their lives. Additionally, community members and activists face escalating threats, including violence, intimidation, arrests, harassment and even abductions for resisting the project. Impacted communities and land, human rights and environmental defenders in the project’s host countries are taking to the streets to demand an end to EACOP and justice for the harm that has already been caused.
Media Contact:
To arrange interviews with spokespeople from organising groups or for more information about individual actions, please contact:
Abiud Onyach
Digital Communications, StopEACOP Campaign
Languages: English, Kiswahili
Time Zone: Eastern African Time
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Notes to Editors:
Photos and videos can be made available after the events.
#StopEACOP is a global campaign against constructing the East African Crude Oil pipeline (EACOP). This proposed 1,443-kilometre heated pipeline will transport oil from Hoima, Uganda, to the port of Tanga in Tanzania. An alliance of local groups, communities, and African and global organisations leads the campaign. The #StopEACOP Coalition has been calling for a stop to the proposed pipeline and associated oil fields at Tilenga and Kingfisher. The #StopEACOP campaign is gathering momentum, building pressure on the remaining supporters and financiers of the East African Crude Oil Pipeline. AEGIS London, Arch Capital Group Ltd and Britam Holdings recently announced they would not offer the project insurance coverage. So far, 27 major banks and 29 major (re)insurers have ruled out support for the pipeline. Some key financial institutions that have yet to commit to not funding EACOP include ICBC and Standard Bank.