Respect for human rights

The Implementation of the Human Rights Action Plan in Mexico

In 2022 Eni has conducted a follow-up analysis of the 2019-2021 Human Rights Action Plan (HRAP) developed by Eni Mexico for Area 1 Development, following the 2019 Human Rights Impact Assessment (HRIA) conducted by the Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR). The assessment has focused on the five component areas identified by the HRIA and associated actions defined by the Human Right Action Plan: Accountability and transparency of the HRIA; Local communities; Fishers; Workplace, with a focus on contractor and subcontractor management, and local employment; Security. The methodology has included a desktop review of all Eni documentation related to the assessment and management of human rights impacts (including impact assessments and plans, stakeholder engagement and communication documents, strategies, and plans - full list in the Annex) and interviews with both Eni colleagues and external stakeholders (local government, community representatives, fishing cooperatives, and local civil society organisations). For this follow up activity, interviews with community and government external stakeholders have been conducted on the field, among them local communities, fishing cooperatives and contractors’ workers.

Some of the interviews with local communities took place in Villahermosa, Sanchez Magallanes, and other communities near Area 1 and many of the interviewed stakeholders were the same who were consulted at the time of the original HRIA field work. The interviews concerned, among others, the following issues: the form and frequency of engagement activities conducted with local communities and fishermen, their satisfaction on accessibility and effectiveness of the grievance mechanism, the Human Rights Action Plan adopted and impact management measures. The inputs received have been processed and considered for programming the New Human Rights Action Plan 2024-2025. Among the feedback received, fishers reported that fishing boats have to travel out further from the coast with, as a result, an increasing in gasoline use and overall costs. The situation, which is caused by several factors (over exploitation of fishing resources), is being managed by Eni through different activities, such as incorporating fishers in its local development program, granting fisher’s equipment, and developing projects on alternatives to improve the productivity of the fishing sector. In this regard, interviews have also reported the need of better explaining and describing these activities to communities, to make sure the benefit are not perceived as not distributed fairly. Among the activities foreseen in the new Human Rights Action Plan there is the development of a new dedicated engagement strategy for the fishermen to improve communication and to make sure that local development activities are seen as accessible and inclusive.

Offshore installations in the coastal waters of Pointe-Noire can cause interference with artisanal fishing, or potentially cause accidents, such as collisions with fishing boats and problems with the use of fishing nets. According to local law, LNG project installations benefit from a 500-metre exclusion zone defined by law, implying restrictions on the use of maritime areas for artisanal fishing. However, offshore platforms in the coastal waters of Pointe-Noire unintentionally form artificial reef systems, called FADs (Fish Aggregating Devices), which attract fishermen, particularly artisanal ones, to the surrounding areas. Prior to any temporary or permanent restriction of a fishing zone, Eni Congo conducts awareness-raising campaigns with the fishermen’s associations of Côte-Matève, Djéno, Ngoyo and the Centre d’Appui à la Pêche Artisanale (CAPAP) de Pointe-Noire, through awareness raising and information sessions and telephone contacts, to explain the nature and duration of the operations, the type of vessels involved, the indication of the exclusion zone by means of a geographical map, and the need to refrain from advancing into the intervention area so as not to endanger one’s own life, the lives of others and the integrity of the equipment.

Nevertheless, a steady increase of fishermen in the operational areas was observed. To better understand the reasons why fishermen expose themselves to risky situations by accessing the prohibited areas, a specific consultation campaign was developed with the artisanal fishing communities. Through this consultation, it was possible to understand the elements to be strengthened with respect to the awareness-raising campaigns and to develop a targeted engagement strategy, not only strengthening awareness in the event of restrictions on fishing areas (seismic campaign, geophysical, etc.), but also launching educational sessions to make fishermen aware of the risks associated with fishing near facilities. This commitment resulted in the implementation of 4 annual awareness campaigns. In view of the large number of fishermen from the affected communities, around 8,000, it was decided to adopt an engagement strategy involving the ‘patrons des pêcheurs’, the captains of the crews in the main fishing areas of Pointe-Noire, and the representatives of the fishing communities to disseminate information. More than 160 fishermen and about 50 representatives of fishing communities took part in the three days of engagement. They were given the task of raising awareness among other fishermen and disseminating the information material produced (leaflets with awareness-raising messages and practical information, and t-shirt and caps to wear during activities). The campaign made it possible to reach more than 3,200 fishermen.

Since 2009, Eni has been promoting a training programme aimed at public and private security personnel in the Countries where it is present in order to disseminate corporate best practices in line with international principles. The targeted Countries are selected according to a rotation principle and in consideration of the risk level of the operating context.

In 2024, the ‘Security & Human Rights’ workshop was held in Mozambique, in Maputo, with the participation of senior Mozambican civil and military officials, as well as representatives of a number of international organizations and companies, and in Pemba, with specific training sessions for private security operators working at Eni sites. The main objective was to promote human rights in security activities, sharing basic principles on the use of force and weapons to prevent violence, with particular attention to the protection of women. Overall, the workshop involved over 200 participants, 153 of whom were members of public and private security forces.

Eni has also developed material for subsidiary-led training initiatives for local Security managers willing to undertake autonomous training courses, which resulted in particularly relevant cases of emerging risks and/or with training needs due to job rotation.  Eni’s training program on Security and Human Rights has been recognized as a best practice in ‘Responsible businesses advancing peace’, the joint publication between the United Nations Global Compact and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI).

To increase the number of security forces involved in specific human rights training, in addition to the annual course delivered by a specialized provider in one or more Countries, a project was launched in 2024 to conduct additional human rights training workshops for local security forces.  The project kick-off took place in the ten Countries with the highest level of risk of human rights violations (according to the results of a risk-based model): Republic of Congo, Tunisia, Mexico, Côte d’Ivoire, Kenya, Iraq, Nigeria, Libya, Algeria and Egypt.