Could Dakota Access Pipeline Owners Be Legally Liable for Human Rights Abuses?

Owners of the North Dakota Access Pipeline have been warned that they risk legal liability over several instances of human rights abuses agianst peaceful Native American and environmental activists opposing the US$3.8 billion pipeline, as militarized law enforcement have increasingly used violence and repression at protest camps.

The joint letter released Friday by five environmental and legal advocacy organizations said that the joint owners of the pipeline “have a corporate duty under international law and the laws of the United States to respect human rights and to avoid complicity in further human rights abuses.”

The advocacy groups said that in recent weeks the situation in the Standing Rock camp “has deteriorated further,” making reference to recent violent crackdowns by law enforcement and security personnel on peaceful protestors.

http://www.telesurtv.net/english/news/Could-DAPL-Owners-Be-Legally-Liable-for-Human-Rights-Abuses-20161029-0002.html