New York, NY, August 29, 2008 … The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) today criticized two leading global energy companies for “hindering the effort to isolate Iran.”

OMV, an Austrian energy corporation, and Shell, the multinational oil company, are sponsoring a conference in Tehran whose goal is to promote “gas export opportunities and potentials of the Islamic Republic of Iran.”  The conference is scheduled for October 4-5 under the auspices of the National Iranian Gas Export Company (NIGEC).

Glen S. Lewy, ADL National Chair, and Abraham H. Foxman, ADL National Director, issued the following statement:

OMV claims to be “guided by its higher standards” in its Corporate Social Responsibility statement and “regards human rights as universal values,” while one of Shell’s Business Principles is “to support fundamental human rights in line with the legitimate role of business.”

 

Yet these two companies are co-sponsoring a conference by the state-owned energy company of the leading state-sponsor of terrorism and human rights violator.  By promoting one of Iran’s strategic industries, natural gas, OMV and Shell are hindering the effort of responsible states and corporations to isolate Iran.

 

How serious a threat to the world must a country be, how egregiously must it violate human rights, before it sinks to OMV’s “higher standards”?  While Shell has decided not to invest in Iran’s natural gas industry, its sponsorship is extremely disappointing and cannot possibly be in accordance with its Business Principles.

The Anti-Defamation League, founded in 1913, is the world's leading organization fighting anti-Semitism through programs and services that counteract hatred, prejudice and bigotry.