Open Letter to the Public from Goldman Environmental Prize Recipients

We, the undersigned Goldman Environmental Prize winners, representing communities from all corners of the globe, write today in memory of our brother Ken Saro-Wiwa, who won the Goldman Prize 14 years ago and was hanged seven months later because of his role leading the non-violent struggle of the indigenous Ogoni people of Nigeria against multinational oil giant Royal Dutch Shell. Today, the Goldman Prize – the “Nobel Prize of the environmental movement” – will be awarded to seven more remarkable environmental leaders, and in five weeks, Shell will answer in U.S. federal court for its complicity in egregious human rights abuses in Nigeria, including Ken Saro-Wiwa’s execution.

We congratulate this year’s prize-winners, and we hail the imminent start of the long-awaited trial, Wiwa v. Shell – a victory in itself for justice and accountability everywhere.

Shell put profits ahead of people, oil ahead of the earth, and brutality over reconciliation in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta. In the early 1990s, Ken Saro-Wiwa, an acclaimed writer, poet and environmental activist, led the Ogoni people in a powerful nonviolent movement, calling on Shell to halt its harmful activities in Ogoni, including gas flaring – a destructive practice that Shell continues even today. The Ogoni struggle was met with deliberate destruction of villages, murder, torture, and extra-judicial executions, as Shell colluded with the Nigerian military government to suppress local opposition to its harmful practices.

For too long, oil companies around the globe have spoken the language of responsible development, while polluting the environment, stealing land, and destroying livelihoods in the communities they operate within. They have carried out their activities against people and the planet as if beyond the reach of justice. No more. The landmark trial, Wiwa v. Shell, scheduled to begin on May 26th, demonstrates that corporations can no longer escape responsibility for their actions.

Today, we declare that companies must be accountable not just to shareholders, but to the communities they operate within; and that the rights and wishes of affected communities and indigenous peoples must be respected, including the internationally recognized principle of free, prior and informed consent to development of their lands.

As we labor for our own peoples’ dignity and participation in decisions that impact our communities, we also celebrate the victory of Ken Saro-Wiwa and the Ogoni people in exposing the true nature of Shell’s ruthless practices in Ogoni to the world. Raising our voices in unity, we call on the global community to stand with the Ogoni people in their struggle for environmental justice and human rights.

Ken Saro-Wiwa’s spirit and legacy live on, and his final words continue to inspire those around the globe laboring for justice, accountability, and a voice in the protection and development of their resources: “Lord take my soul, but the struggle continues.”

Signed:

Rashida Bee, India, 2004
Julia "Judy" Bonds, USA 2003 
Giorgos Catsadorakis, Greece, 2001
Pisit Charnsnoh, Thailand, 2002
Willie Corduff, Ireland, 2007
Corneille E. N. Ewango, Democratic Republic of the Congo, 2005
Atherton Martin, Dominica, 1998 
Dr. Margaret Jacobsohn, Namibia, 1993 
Myrsini Malakou, Greece, 2001
Garth Owen-Smith, Namibia, 1993 
Alexander Peal, Liberia, 2000 
Nat Quansah, Madagascar, 2000 
Rosa Hilda Ramos, Puerto Rico, 2008 
Marina Rikhvanova, Russia, 2008 
Feliciano dos Santos, Mozambique, 2008
Silas Kpanan’Ayoung Siakor, Liberia, 2006 
Tarcísio Feitosa da Silva, Brazil, 2006 
Hammerskjoeld Simwinga, Zambia, 2007 
John Sinclair, Australia, 1993 
Champa Devi Shukla, India, 2004 
Terri Swearingen, USA, 1997 
Ka Hsaw Wa, Burma, 1999 
Craig Williams, USA, 2006