The Docket has supported female survivors through their representation in criminal proceedings in Sweden against the Lundin oil company. Lundin executives face charges in Sweden alleging they actively benefited from and facilitated war crimes and crimes against humanity, including massive displacement and destruction, killings, rapes, torture, and use of child soldiers.
In rejecting the energy executives' unfounded claims, Sweden has signaled its commitment to upholding its responsibility to investigate and prosecute international crimes, bringing perpetrators to justice, and providing remedies for Sudanese victims.
The “Scorched Earth” Policy
The “scorched earth” policy deployed by Sudanese government forces and their allied militias to depopulate the areas where Lundin carried out its oil exploration involved large-scale displacement, abductions, and rape. Dozens of towns and villages were burnt to the ground and over 200,000 civilians displaced, left with no means of survival and denied life-saving humanitarian assistance.
More than 12,000 people, including many women and children, died; civilians were raped, tortured, enslaved, and children forcibly conscripted as soldiers.