TotalEnergies promotes awareness sessions on human rights

TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, operator of the Mozambique LNG project, organized last week, supported by TotalEnergies’ headquarter human rights department, in the cities of Maputo, Pemba, and Palma in Mozambique, awareness sessions on human rights, in the continuity of similar sessions organized in 2022. The company’s employees, implementing partners of its socio-economic projects in Cabo Delgado, public and private institutions, international organizations, civil society organizations, and multilateral cooperation partners in the country participated in these sessions.

The sessions focused on TotalEnergies’ approach to human rights and aspects related to human rights at work, human rights and local communities, and human rights and security. The sessions also included discussions on identifying potential synergies between different players to address current challenges and take advantage of existing opportunities for greater promotion of human rights in Cabo Delgado.

Laurinda Luciano, Permanent Secretary of the District of Palma, said that “these sessions on human rights are very important. Together and in coordination, with the Government, the population, and the Mozambique LNG project, we can extend aspects linked to human rights to all communities in the district.”

Carine Coudeville, Vice President for Human Rights at TotalEnergies, reaffirmed the “strong commitment of TotalEnergies to respecting human rights in its business activities and contributing to the well-being of the people for a responsible and sustainable business wherever the company operates. As far as Cabo Delgado business is concerned, the fulfillment of human rights is only possible through a collaborative effort of all stakeholders both at national and local level. We will, therefore, together with our subsidiary in Mozambique, continue to join synergies with various stakeholders to pursue this goal.”

In turn, Laila Chilemba, Vice President for Public Affairs and External Communication at TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada, said that “the Company will continue to strengthen engagements with all stakeholders in the country to achieve greater effectiveness of its commitments on human rights. We will continue to work under Mozambican legislation and under the various international principles that the Company applies, which include the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the principles set out in the fundamental conventions of the International Labor Organization, the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, and the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.”

In line, Ivete Mafundza Espada, Human Rights Officer at the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights in Mozambique stated: “We have been working with several companies to raise awareness on business and human rights. We are here to raise awareness of the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights and ensure this information reaches businesses. We are very pleased to witness that this company [TotalEnergies EP Mozambique Area 1 Limitada] and several others in Mozambique have human rights policies and are developing internal capacity in this area. It is necessary to encourage and give all the support so that they continue to do so.”