The NCP has received a complaint from CSJA against Telenor and its wholly owned subsidiary, Telenor Myanmar. The complaint mainly concerns an incident where the military allegedly used an inactive telecommunications tower owned and operated by a vendor of Telenor Myanmar to shoot unarmed civilians from the village Alethankyaw, Rakhine State in August 2017. CSJA claims that the company failed to carry out the appropriate level of due diligence and has not handled the incident in accordance with the OECD Guidelines. The complaint also raises issues regarding land acquisition and a network closure in Myanmar.
The complainant alleges that the company has acted inconsistently with the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises among other things when it comes to human rights due diligence (Chapter IV in the Guidelines) and the relationship to suppliers (Chapter II in the Guidelines). CSJA asks for a fair and impartial investigation of the issues raised, and does not seek financial compensation.
The complaint from CSJA concerns Telenor and its wholly owned subsidiary, Telenor Myanmar. The OECD Guidelines apply to both. Due to Covid-19, it has taken some time to confirm information about the complainant. The NCP now has adequate information about the identity of the complainant and their interest in issues raised in the complaint. The complaint raises issues relating, among other things, to recommendations in the OECD Guidelines on due diligence and operating in conflict-affected areas, and is substantiated with references to fact-finding reports from the UN.
The NCP has decided to proceed with the complaint, but has not made any assessment as to whether the company has acted inconsistently with the OECD Guidelines.
See the NCPs Initial Assessment of the complaint and other documents here.
If you have questions, contact the chair of the NCP, Frode Elgesem. phone: +47 41696089