TotalEnergies was the target of complaints in Paris “complicity in war crimes, torture and enforced disappearance” in Mozambique, at the site of its closed gas project that is in the process of being relaunched. The German association European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) accused the French group of doing this“after directly funding and materially supporting the Joint Task Force (JTF), comprised of Mozambican armed forces, when they allegedly detained, tortured and killed dozens of civilians” between July and September 2021, according to the press release.
These violations allegedly occurred at the entrance to the Mozambique LNG gas project site – of which TotalEnergies is the largest shareholder and operator (26.5%) – then stopped following deadly jihadist attacks in March-April 2021 in the neighboring town of Palma, in the north of the country. The complaint was also made “against X”was sent on Monday to the National Anti-Terrorism Prosecutor’s Office (Pnat) in Paris – which is in charge of war crimes.
“It seems unthinkable that TotalEnergies could claim that it was unaware of the crimes committed by the Mozambican army, but also more specifically the alleged human rights violations targeting the Joint Task Force, because the company itself reported this through several internal documents sent to its public investors”said Clara Gonzales, director of the business and human rights program at ECCHR.
The complaint, which calls for the opening of a preliminary investigation, follows allegations reported in the media Political in September 2024, then by SourceMaterial and Worldand which TotalEnergies contest.
This comes as the French hydrocarbon giant said it was ready on October 25 to relaunch the Mozambique LNG consortium’s estimated $20 billion project. However, the restart of production, which is expected to start in 2029, still depends on the Maputo government’s approval of compensation for additional costs related to the delay, which are estimated at $4.5 billion.
Following attacks carried out by jihadists linked to the Islamic State group, which has been active in Cabo Delgado province since 2017, the group stated “force majeure” and halted the project in 2021. The site was then left under the guard of Mozambican army troops, part of the Joint Task Force (JTF), created in 2020 based on an agreement signed between TotalEnergies’ local subsidiary, Tepma 1, and the Maputo government. This agreement was violated in October 2023.
Political reported that during their counteroffensive to regain control of Palma, soldiers working at the site intercepted residents and locked between 180 and 250 people in containers, accusing them of supporting jihadists. Detained for three months, the men were beaten, starved and tortured. Only 26 of them survived, according to an investigation by journalist Alex Perry, based on testimony.
LNG Mozambique assured the media that this was not the case “never received any information indicating that the event actually occurred”. World and Source Material later confirmed in November 2024 that TotalEnergies, as of April 2021, was aware of allegations of violent acts by the JTF against civilians, according to a social report written by the Mozambique LNG team and submitted to the Italian export credit agency (SACE), one of the public funders for the project.
“TotalEnergies continues to support the JTF directly by providing housing, food, equipment and bonuses (…) to soldiers on condition of respecting human rights”condemned the NGO. ECCHR currently relies on “new document” obtained from Dutch authorities, who reported exchanges between the Dutch public export credit agency Atradius DSB, TotalEnergies and its security provider, mentioning in early May 2020 the risk of human rights violations by local armed forces.
Following revelations from political, several investigations have been launched in Mozambique, by the Prosecutor General’s Office and the National Human Rights Commission, as well as by export credit agencies, the NGO said. The group has also been the target of an investigation since March by an investigative judge from Nanterre over allegations“murder” And “failure to help someone in danger”worn by survivors or relatives of victims of jihadist attacks.
