APPENDIX 7
Examples of mechanisms we have used that are
close to the point of action and can provide swift resolution
are drawn from our Tangguh LNG construction project, Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline construction and our current operations in Colombia:
— The Tangguuh Independent Advisory Panel,
funded by BP, was headed by the well respected US Senator George
Mitchell. The Panel over the last seven years held open public
hearings at which community members were free to raise concerns
and complaints which were then relayed to BP and a response was
expected. The Panel also held sessions in London and Washington
to present their report and get feedback.
— Where specifically there is a risk concerning
the performance of security forces, we have a very detailed system
of receiving and dealing with complaints regarding allegations
of security and human rights abuses, The case of Colombia is illustrative
where we have well documented procedures.
BP Colombia's procedure for responding to complaints
and allegations aims to make sure that community grievances related
to actions of the public forces in our operational area, to our
own actions or to the potential impact of changes in security
arrangements, are recorded, analyzed, addressed and responded
to promptly. It also aims to help the business to take preventative
action to avoid recurrence of any incident.
The procedure identifies individual responsibilities
and actions in response to a complaint. It sets out how complaints
are to be recorded and analyzed. It also provides guidance on
the types of cases that would require an internal investigation,
which would focus on identifying any acts or omissions by BP that
contributed to the incident. If a complaint involves a possible
breach of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the individual
concerned would be urged to make their representation to the appropriate
authority.
Throughout the procedure there is an emphasis
on record keeping as statistics on complaints received and remedied
are used on an ongoing base to improve security management performance.
— During the construction of the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan
pipeline in Azerbaijan, Georgia and Turkey we put in place a number
of measures to try to resolve complaints related to land issues
in a fair and transparent manner.
For example BTC Co, the consortium led by BP
to build the pipeline, engaged a third party (the BNB Statistics,
Economy, Informatics,
Education and Trade Co.) in Turkey to provide
independent verification that construction impacts and land acquisition
grievances were being closed out, and that ongoing land acquisition
activities were complying with Resettlement Action Plan requirements.
In Azerbaijan, the Center for Legal and Economic Education (CLEE)
provided free legal assistance to any land owner/user not satisfied
with the result of the grievance response. Additionally, CLEE,
on a monthly basis, selected ten closed complaints at random and
contacted the complainants directly to verify that claims had
been resolved.
Steve Westwell
Group Chief of Staff
18 September 2009
|
