444 By Susan Ariel Aaronson and David Deese With a reaction by ...

Shell and the other oil companies operating in the region (including Chevron,Mobil, Elf, and Agip) were widely criticized for their stance of non-interference, whichsome individuals interpreted as tacit support for the Nigerian regime. In the years since,these firms have dramatically changed how they operate in the region, but the localpopulace believes these firms perpetuate poverty by continued collusion with corruptofficials at the provincial and federal levels. Despite significant changes by the Nigeriangovernment to achieve greater democratization and transparency, the companies are stillsubject to frequent protests, work stoppages, and animosity in the Niger Delta.167Other companies have encountered similar problems in other resource rich developingcountries such as: Chevron in Ecuador, Unocal (now Chevron) in Burma and ExxonMobil in Indonesia. Exxon Mobil and Unocal have actually been compelled to defendtheir international human rights practices in courts of law. Some activists have arguedthat in countries where human rights abuses are so egregious, the energy firm mustwithdraw (as the Canadian firm Talisman did from Sudan). But a withdrawal is notnecessary good for the local population in such countries. Many workers and associatedbusinesses will lose jobs and income, and the energy company will relinquish financialand political leverage to influence the government to act responsibly. Clearly, then, thereis no one right strategy for oil companies confronted with these dilemmas.In response to this quandary, the U.S. and U.K. governments collaborated on aplan to help companies deal with some of the human rights issues related to theiroperations. The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights is a set of guidelinesadopted by governments, extractive companies and human rights NGOs. The VoluntaryPrinciples provide practical guidelines for how companies can protect the safety and457