Workers Rights in Indonesia

In the lawsuit Doe vs. Exxon Mobil Corporation, eleven Indonesian villagers from Aceh province have alleged torture and murder by Indonesian security forces employed by Exxon Mobil. The case was filed by the Washington D.C.-based International Labor Rights Fund (ILRF) on behalf of the Indonesian plaintiffs.

Displaying troubling disregard for human rights, the U.S. State Department - in a letter dated July 29, 2024 - warned Judge Louis Oberdorfer of the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia that the lawsuit against Exxon Mobil "would impact adversely on the interests of the United States,” economically and in the "war on terrorism." In saying this, the State Department echoed the argument made by lawyers for Exxon Mobil that because the case involves alleged human rights abuses in Indonesia - the nation that is home to the largest Islamic population in the world - continued litigation would compromise the U.S. government’s “war on terrorism.”

The Lawyers Committee deplores the position of the State Department and rejects the implication that US investment overseas can come at the cost of human rights protection. Companies should not be immune from prosecution for human rights abuse in their operations at home or abroad.

Furthermore, the State Department letter undermines two of the U.S. government’s own efforts to promote corporate accountability for human rights abuses:

• Efforts by the U.S. Congress to give meaning to human rights protections through the Alien Tort Claims Act, threatening to turn the law into a dead letter;
• The State Department’s own initiative, the US-UK Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, a normative framework for human rights protection in the security operations of US and UK companies abroad, developed by the US and UK governments, companies in the extractive and energy sectors, and NGOs.