The Second People’s Environmental Assembly held in Port Harcourt, River state, Nigeria marked milestone in the global struggle for environmental justice with the formal launch of the Global Network of Resistance to Shell, an international solidarity movement bringing together frontline communities, environmental justice organizations and activists resisting Shell’s destructive extractive operations across the world.
The Network emerged from a growing recognition that Shell’s environmental destruction, human rights abuses and corporate impunity are not isolated incidents, but part of a pattern of exploitation that has continued across countries for decades. From the oil-polluted communities of Nigeria’s Niger Delta to South Africa’s Wild Coast, where indigenous communities have successfully challenged Shell’s offshore exploration plans through organized resistance and legal action, the experiences of affected communities reveal the urgent need for a united global response.
Convened through the collaboration of We the People in Nigeria and the Amadiba Crisis Committee in South Africa, the Network builds on a series of community learning exchanges held in September 2025 and April 2026. These exchanges brought frontline activists from both countries together to share experiences, document Shell’s destructive practices and strengthen strategies for collective resistance.
At its core, the Network is founded on the conviction that a corporation operating across borders must be confronted by resistance that is equally organized across borders. It seeks to connect affected communities, facilitate knowledge sharing, coordinate advocacy and legal interventions, challenge corporate misinformation, and amplify demands for environmental restoration, reparations, and accountability.
The Network also rejects the idea that communities must bear the environmental and social costs of extraction while corporations walk away with profits. It places frontline communities at the centre of decision-making and promotes a just transition away from fossil fuel extraction, grounded in community rights, ecological justice and solidarity.
