UN Slams TotalEnergies For Failing To Protect Environmental Defenders In Uganda

Kampala, Uganda – May 23, 2025

As TotalEnergies held its Annual Shareholders’ Meeting in France of Friday May 23, 2025, international pressure is mounting over serious human rights violations linked to its oil projects in Uganda.

The United Nations Special Rapporteur on environmental defenders has issued a scathing public statement, accusing the French energy giant of failing to protect environmental and community activists facing harassment, threats, and violence in the context of the Tilenga, Kingfisher, and East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) projects.

The projects, majority-owned by TotalEnergies through its subsidiary TotalEnergies EP Uganda (TEPU), have long faced criticism for land grabs, repression of peaceful protest, and shrinking civic space around oil infrastructure. Despite public claims of transparency and respect for human rights, the company has consistently dismissed reports of abuses as “misconceptions.”

Michel Forst, the UN Special Rapporteur under the Aarhus Convention, urged TotalEnergies to conduct an independent investigation, ensure protection for defenders, and stop all forms of persecution. “TotalEnergies’ continued failure to act on well-documented abuses is unacceptable,” Forst stated.

The Community Transformation Foundation Network (COTFONE), a civil society group working with affected communities in Uganda, strongly backed the UN’s call.

“Environmental defenders are not enemies of development. They are guardians of sustainability,” said Yisito Kayinga Muddu, COTFONE’s National Coordinator. “TotalEnergies must stop hiding behind paper policies and start protecting people on the ground.”

COTFONE has documented numerous cases of arbitrary arrests, office raids, and intimidation of its members and local leaders in the Albertine region. The organization is urging international investors to hold TotalEnergies accountable for its obligations under international law.

The growing global outcry signals a turning point as communities demand justice, safety, and genuine environmental responsibility from one of the world’s largest oil companies.

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