No Business with Governments Complicit in Genocide - Burma

2017 – Chevron Corp.

WHEREAS: Chevron, in partnership with Total, the Petroleum Authority of Thailand, and Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE), holds equity in one of the largest investment projects in Burma (Myanmar): the Yadana gas-field and pipeline that generates billions of dollars for the Burmese government.

In 2005, Chevron acquired Unocal along with the legal, moral, and political liabilities of its investment in Burma. Human rights organizations documented egregious human rights abuses by Burmese troops employed to secure the Yadana pipeline area, including forcible relocation of villagers and use of forced labor. In March 2005, Unocal settled a case for a reported multi-million dollar amount in which it was claimed that Unocal was complicit in human rights abuses by Burmese troops hired by the Yadana project to provide security.

In Burma, foreign participation in the energy sector takes place through joint ventures with the state-owned Myanmar Oil and Gas Enterprise (MOGE). U.S. lawmakers, including Sen. John McCain and former Sen. Joseph Lieberman, have described their concerns that “MOGE's operations lack transparency, that it remains overly influenced by the Burmese military, and that the large amounts of foreign investment flowing into MOGE are not sufficiently accountable to the Burmese people or its parliament."

In March 2015, Chevron entered into an additional Production Sharing Contract with MOGE to explore for oil and gas in the Rakhine Basin.

Rakhine State is home to the Rohingya people, an ethnic minority subject to a government-sanctioned campaign of repression and violence. Despite often having lived in Burma for generations, the Rohingya are denied citizenship, freedom of religion, and voting rights. In 2012, Burmese security forces moved more than 120,000 Rohingya from their homes into detention camps where access is restricted to basic services, such as food, healthcare, and education.

In late November 2016, the U.N.'s human rights agency said that abuses suffered by the Rohingya may amount to crimes against humanity. The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum has reported that the Rohingya are “at grave risk of additional mass atrocities and even genocide.”

The International Coalition for the Responsibility to Protect (ICRtoP) monitors countries worldwide for instances of serious crimes under international law including genocide, war crimes, ethnic cleansing, and crimes against humanity. In this regard, ICRtoP lists several countries, cited by the United Nations and civil society organizations, in which Chevron is currently producing oil and gas: Burma (Myanmar), Democratic Republic of Congo, and Nigeria.

BE IT RESOLVED: The shareholders request the Board to publish a report six months following the 2017 annual general meeting, omitting proprietary information and prepared at reasonable cost, evaluating the feasibility of adopting a policy of not doing business with governments that are complicit in genocide and/or crimes against humanity.

Supporting Statement: As shareholders, we believe that our company has the duty to avoid the moral, legal, financial, reputational, and operational risks posed by doing business with governments complicit in genocide or crimes against humanity.