20
EXITING
CAMEROON
PROTECTING HUMAN RIGHTS
Looking After Workers and
Commercial Relationships
Oil and gas operations in most countries are classified as national assets and thus state military forces often provide security to ensure the safety of the asset and foreign personnel.
This was the case in Cameroon, where the Battalion d’Intervention Rapide (BIR), a special
unit of Cameroon’s military, provided security for the Sipo-1 well.
At Kosmos, we expect our business
partners, agents, suppliers and contractors to behave ethically. We will intervene when necessary to protect people
and other assets.
Because the Sipo-1 well required BIR to work in close proximity to local villages unfamiliar
with a military presence, Kosmos identified potential risks associated with this arrangement and took action. In keeping with our commitment to the Voluntary Principles on
Security and Human Rights, we worked with The Fund for Peace, a U.S.-based organization
that works to prevent violent conflict and promote sustainable security, to develop and
conduct community relations and human rights training for BIR personnel.
The Fund for Peace collaborated with BIR to design and implement a new type of program that combined a traditional training
curriculum with a true-to-life comic book series based on firsthand experiences and other real-life scenarios faced by the BIR
in their day-to-day operations. The “Captain Cameroun” comic
books were readily and easily disseminated throughout the battalion and helped to bring the more traditional training curriculum to life. Since the BIR was involved in creating the program,
its officers visibly supported the initiative and continue to serve
as advocates for respecting human rights in their operations.
To read more about this