It’s time to act against the oil companies causing death and destruction | John Sentamu

Repentance, reparation and remedy for the terrible damage done to the people of Bayelsa state in Nigeria is long overdue

• John Sentamu is the archbishop of York

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights begins: “All human beings … should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood.” It is now widely acknowledged that human rights cannot be enjoyed without a safe, clean and healthy environment. The right to a healthy environment is enshrined in more than 100 constitutions all over the world because human and environmental rights are intertwined.

However, despite the endorsement of the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, oil companies exploiting irreplaceable resources in the Niger Delta are callously flouting fundamental human rights. That is the conclusion I have been forced to draw from my work as chair of the Bayelsa State Oil and Environmental Commission (BSOEC).

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Archbishop: church ‘shabby and shambolic’ in abuse case

C of E’s John Sentamu admits lack of support for victim but denies he made personal mistakes

The archbishop of York has admitted the Church of England’s treatment of a vicar who was raped as a teenager by another cleric was “shabby and shambolic” but denied he had made personal mistakes in the case.

John Sentamu told the independent inquiry into child sexual abuse that more support should have been given by the church to the Rev Matthew Ineson when he told of his abuse. The archbishop accepted an earlier description by the bishop of Bath and Wells that Ineson’s treatment was “shabby and shambolic”.

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