Human Rights Due Diligence & the Right to Remedy in Mergers & Acquisitions

Remedy-related risks must be part of human rights due diligence in mergers and acquisitions – that is the message from the Norwegian National Contact Point (NCP) in its recent final statement on the merger between Aker BP and Lundin Energy. The statement follows a complaint filed in May 2022 by Swedwatch, PAX, and six other CSOs, arguing that Aker BP’s due diligence was inadequate and risked undermining victims’ right to remedy for war crimes in Sudan. The NCP has now concluded that Aker BP failed to consider these risks and should take part in remediating harms linked to Lundin Energy.

Please join PAX and Swedwatch for a panel event on this new standard for corporate human rights responsibilities in mergers and acquisitions – particularly the responsibility to contribute to remedy for past abuses. Based on the NCP’s final statement, the panel will discuss the responsibility to respect human rights in mergers and acquisitions, how companies can acquire remedy obligations through mergers and acquisitions, and what the Guidelines expect from investor engagement during these processes.

This panel, the third in a series of side events on the Lundin criminal trial and the struggle for remedy for victims of war crimes in South Sudan, will take place in Geneva as an informal side event during the 14th United Nations Forum on Business and Human Rights.

Last year's recording and more information on the Lundin case.

Moderation

Salil Tripathi, Senior Advisor, Institute for Human Rights and Business

Speakers

Rev. James Ninrew Kuong Deng, Plaintiff in the Lundin war crimes trial and Spokesperson for Liech Victims Voices

Prof. Anita Ramasastry, Henry M. Jackson Professor of Law

Dr. Tara van Ho, Associate Professor of Law, St. Mary’s School of Law

Eva Gerritse, Project Lead Business, Conflict & Human rights, PAX

If you are in Geneva and want to join this event in person, please send an email to Eva Gerritse at gerritse@paxforpeace.nl.

Location:

The Geneva Press Club (Attic Room)
Chem. de l'Impératrice 18
1292 Pregny-Chambésy

Lunch will be provided if you are attending in person.

Bakground:

In May 2022, PAX and Swedwatch together with 6 other European and South Sudanese civil society organizations filed a complaint with the Norwegian National Contact Point for the OECD Guidelines, against Norwegian oil giant Aker BP.

The complaint concerned Aker’s merger with Lundin, the Swedish oil company whose former executives were indicted -and are currently on trial- for aiding and abetting war crimes in Sudan. Six weeks after the indictment against the Lundin executives was published, Lundin and Norwegian oil giant Aker BP announced a merger. Under the merger agreement, 98% of Lundin’s assets would be transferred to Aker. For Lundin this meant that its assets would be safely out of reach for compensation claims by South Sudanese victims. For the victims, this meant that their access to compensation by Lundin was virtually cut off.

Despite being warned of the human rights impact of the merger, Aker went ahead and the merger was completed on 30 June 2022. Lundin was left an empty shell. The complaint filed with the Norwegian NCP asserted that Aker had failed to conduct due diligence on the human rights impacts of the merger and that by entering into the merger, Aker itself contributed to adverse impact on the right to remedy.

In June 2025, the NCP issued its final statement on the complaint. The statement concludes that Aker had indeed failed to conduct proper human rights due diligence when it merged with Lundin and calls on Aker to retroactively carry out this due diligence, including meaningful engagement with stakeholders. Aker should also, where appropriate, take a role in remediation, by using its leverage to encourage its business relationships -Lundin and its principal shareholders- to participate in processes of remedy.

The NCP statement does not only present a victory to the complainants and a step forward in the long road to remedy for the affected communities in South Sudan, but also clarifies and reinforces corporate human rights responsibilities during mergers and acquisitions. The speakers will reflect on the assessment and on what it means for all parties involved with and those impacted by mergers and acquisitions.