Programmes

Unpaid Debt: the Lundin Case

Since 2001, PAX stands with victims of war crimes committed during the Sudanese oil wars, in their quest for justice. For justice to be done, all perpetrators and their accomplices must be held to account, and that those who have benefitted from crimes should contribute to the victims’ right to remedy and reparation. Our Unpaid Debt report led to a criminal investigation and eventually a major war crimes trial in Sweden against executives of oil company Lundin, that continue until Spring 2026. Our goal is that the trial will bring justice to victims of war crimes and caution the business community to prevent violent conflict and take no risks with the lives and livelihoods of human beings.

Read more

Image: Svenn Torfinn

In 2010, PAX, on behalf of the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan, published the report Unpaid Debt. It described the involvement of international oil companies in grave war crimes committed during a part of Sudanese civil war that revolved around control over oil fields. In 2021, two former executives of Swedish oil company Lundin were finally indicted for aiding and abetting war crimes. The criminal trial started in September 2023 and is the largest and longest running in Swedish history. Unfortunately, the Swedish legal system cannot provide reparation to the 150.000+ victims. Therefore, PAX advocates that the three companies that benefitted from the crimes, Orrön/Lundin Energy, Petronas and OMV, their shareholders, and their home countries Sweden, Malaysia and Austria fulfil their right to remedy and reparation.  

Right to remedy

What we want

All victims of human rights violations have a right to remedy and reparation to enable them to rebuild their lives and those of their children. This is the story about the tens of thousands of people in South Sudan who lived through the horrors of the oil war and have been denied this right.

Please accept marketing cookies to watch this video. Reload page after accepting cookies.

What happened?

In 1997, Swedish oil company Lundin Oil (now Orrön Energy) signed a contract with the Government of Sudan for the exploitation of oil in a concession area called Block 5A, located in Unity State, in the south of what is now South Sudan. At that time, the country was torn apart by a civil war that had started in 1983 between the government and allied militias and a variety of armed rebel groups from the south. Block 5A– was located in an area that was not under full Government control and that was relatively peaceful. The arrival of the oil companies set off a vicious war as the Government attempted to control the area by force to secure oil operations. In the period until 2003, gross war crimes were committed, including killings, rape, child abduction, torture, pillage, arson. Schools, markets and clinics were destroyed. An estimated 12.000 people died and 180.000 were forcibly displaced.

Voices of victims

The Unpaid Debt report

In November 2006, after the Sudanese civil war had ended, a group of South Sudanese civil society organizations called upon the European Coalition on Oil in Sudan (ECOS) to assist in advocating for justice for victims of the oil war. Subsequently, PAX, the coordinator of ECOS, wrote the report “Unpaid Debt”, which was published in 2010. The report described the role of Lundin, OMV and Petronas in the oil war and called upon the companies to address the fate of the harmed communities and contribute to a remedy process. However, the companies took a confrontational approach and continue to deny any responsibility until today.

Unpaid Debt

The Legacy of Lundin, Petronas and OMV in Block 5A, Sudan 1997 – 2003

Download the report

The Lundin war crimes trial

The publication of Unpaid Debt triggered a criminal investigation in Sweden into links between the reported international crimes and Lundin. On 11 November 2021, Lundin’s Chairman Ian Lundin and CEO Alexandre Schneiter were formally charged with aiding and abetting international atrocity crimes. The trial opened on 5 September 2023. It is an exceptionally big criminal case, 32 plaintiffs and 92 witnesses will be heard and the hearings are scheduled to continue until Spring 2026. The importance of the upcoming trial is threefold. It will be the first time that anybody will be held to account a crime committed during Sudan’s civil war. It will be the first time since the Nuremburg trials that a multi-billion dollar company stands accused of aiding and abetting war crimes. And most importantly, it may lead to remedy and reparation of harmed communities by actors who stand credibly accused of contributing to war crimes and profiting from it, Lundin, Petronas, OMV and their shareholders, as well as their home countries.

Shortly after the indictment, Lundin announced the transfer of 98% of its assets to Alker BP, effectively separating its wealth from its alleged crimes. In May 2022, together with seven other European and South Sudanese civil society organizations, PAX filed a complaint with the Norwegian National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines against Norwegian oil company Aker BP and its largest shareholder Aker ASA for breaching the Guidelines as the transaction forever denied victims access to reparation.

In May 2024, PAX and the Centre for the Enforcement of Human Rights International (CEHRI) filed a criminal complaint against former executives of Austrian oil company OMV, Lundin’s consortium partner in Sudan, for aiding and abetting war crimes.

Lundin War Crimes Trial Podcast

This is the Lundin War Crimes Trial, a podcast series produced by PAX and Global Idé about the case against the Swedish company Lundin, that has been charged with complicity in war crimes in South Sudan from 1999 to 2003.

The podcast is also available on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.

Beyond the trial: the quest for remedy and reparation

We believe that justice for the victims of the civil wars in Sudan and South Sudan is a prerequisite for peace and reconciliation. For justice to be done, it is crucial that all perpetrators and their accomplices are held to account, that truth is heard and harm is made undone.

During the criminal investigation and since the start of the trial, PAX has worked with communities that have been harmed, with churches, and civil society organizations in South Sudan and elsewhere to advocate for the right to remedy and reparation. Inform affected communities about events in court and ensure that their representatives get a seat at the table with companies and policymakers to advocate for justice.  

For news about the trial and an overview of the Unpaid Debt project, visit Unpaid Debt – The Right to Remedy, where you can also sign up for the Newsletter and access the Lundin War Crimes Trial Podcast series.

Links
Contact