When the Company received information concerning allegations of its suspected complicity in war crimes, it responded constructively by (i) carrying out its own internal investigations with independent journalists travelling with them into the region and publishing the findings (‘Lundin Oil in Sudan’); (ii) inviting the Government of Sweden to visit the concession to investigate (an invitation which the Government declined); (iii) engaging with NGOs such as Amnesty International, Christian Aid, Human Rights Watch and ECOS; and (iv) seeking to engage with the Government of Sudan as a way to exercise leverage to advocate for a sustainable peace agreement. The facts on the ground that the Company discovered as to what really happened, were completely different to the alleged “oil wars” propagated by the NGOs.

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Following their trip in May 2001, EU Ambassadors visiting Sudan found no proof that Sudanese Government troops forced people to leave their villages near the oil fields or that the Government of Sudan was undertaking ‘scorched earth’ tactics in order to prepare for the oil industry. The UN Special Rapporteur also visited Sudan from 2-14 October 2001 and did not request that the activities of oil companies and in particular, those of the Company to cease.

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At no stage did the Swedish Authorities advise, direct or otherwise intervene to halt the oil operations. Neither did the United Nations make any demands that the Company cease its activities in Sudan.