Big Oil moves ahead on human rights, slowly

Still, activists say there is still a long way to go. What remains to be seen is whether the new policies are acted on.

"Whether it's stuff that's just on paper is the multibillion dollar question and the truth is we don't know yet," said Mila Rosenthal, director of the business and human Rights Program at Amnesty International USA. "They've come some ways in terms of the public commitments. What we're waiting to see is if it's having enough impact on the ground."

A LASTING FOOTPRINT

In Nigeria, the perception that oil drilling has enriched foreign oil companies and corrupt politicians at the expense of the local population has triggered protests that are violently repressed by Nigerian armed forces, human rights groups say.

In countries like Chad and Equatorial Guinea, human rights groups want more transparency in payments made by oil companies to the governments. With their deep pockets and the long-lasting impact on areas they drill, oil companies have a responsibility to ensure that their presence promotes respect for human rights, they say.

"An apparel factory, say, does not have the same footprint that an oil company does," said David Schilling, who directs the corporate accountability program at the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility. "It has a big impact because of its operations and the wealth that is generated from that enterprise."