Shell not liable for rights violations

NEW YORK, Feb. 8 (UPI) -- Royal Dutch Shell can't be held accountable in U.S. courts for violations of international human rights law, a U.S. appeals court ruled.

The families of seven Nigerians executed in the 1990s accuse Shell of standing by Nigerian authorities in the suppression of demonstrations against oil exploration in the country.

A U.S. appeals court ruled that under the rule of law, companies can't be liable in a U.S. court for international rights violations, Nigerian newspaper This Day reports.

Shell faced Dutch lawmakers at The Hague in January to answer questions about their safety record in Nigeria. Amnesty International and Friends of the Earth International announced they had filed formal complaints with the British and Dutch governments over what they considered Shell's failure to take responsibility for the majority of the oil pollution in the region.

Shell executives said Nigerian militants were responsible for more than half of the oil spills in the Niger Delta. They said they would pay for damages caused by pipeline corrosion and other issues but not for sabotage.

The advocacy groups said Shell in the 1990s took responsibility for much of the oil pollution in the Niger Delta. Now the company is blaming sabotage by rebel groups for more than 90 percent of the oil spills in the region, the groups claim.