EU foreign policy chief warns French energy giant on human rights violations

BRUSSELS — A French energy giant embroiled in allegations of rape and murder at a gas plant under construction in Mozambique could face legal repercussions in the European Union if it violates human rights outside Europe in the future, the bloc’s top diplomat said.

POLITICO reported last month that a Mozambican military unit operating out of TotalEnergies’ gatehouse at a site in Cabo Delgado massacred and tortured dozens of civilians in 2021.

The soldiers accused villagers who had fled their homes of being members of an Islamist insurgency, then crammed them into shipping containers and subjected them to beatings and starvation over three months. Of those captured, only a small portion survived.

TotalEnergies contracted a Mozambican security unit to defend the plant despite warnings that some soldiers had allegedly carried out human rights abuses.  The energy company told POLITICO it had “no knowledge of the alleged events described” nor “any information indicating that such events took place.”

The EU’s foreign policy chief Josep Borrell, responding to written questions from members of the European Parliament, said Wednesday that he and the Commission had “taken note of the article” and “the alleged actions of the Mozambican army against civilians.”

He said that EU legislation going into effect in 2027 would make European companies accountable for the impact of their operations on human rights and the environment inside and outside Europe and require EU countries to “ensure that any victims receive compensation.”  

“As such, TotalEnergies will have to comply with the directive should they decide to resume their operations in Cabo Delgado,” Borrell said.

The directive, adopted in July, compels companies to safeguard the environment and human rights in their supply chains.

The revelation of alleged atrocities at TotalEnergies’ plant in Mozambique prompted an outcry among European lawmakers, with several calling for an investigation and accountability.

In the United Kingdom, the advocacy group Friends of the Earth has warned the government that a planned loan supporting the gas project would put the country at risk of a legal challenge.

Mozambique’s defense ministry denied the allegations that the army was involved in acts of torture and violence but expressed “total openness and willingness to accept a transparent and impartial investigation.”