Corporate Security

Protecting our employees and safeguarding our facilities in high-risk areas, ensuring respect for human rights.

We are present in 29 countries, and we operate in sensitive areas that make the corporate security role essential for our company’s multiple activities.

 

The strategic importance of energy sector infrastructures exposes them to the risks inherent in terrorism or those arising from military conflicts. They must therefore be protected in collaboration with private security companies and public security forces.

Since December 2013, we have been members of the international Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative (VPSHR), which aims to ensure the security of operations in high-risk areas and conflict zones through work procedures that respect human rights.

 

Some of the actions we carry out in the framework of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR) are:

  • Identify the key stakeholders
  • Establish dialogue sessions with the stakeholders we have previously identified.
  • We conduct human rights risk and impact assessments at our operations: all of them cover corporate security and human rights aspects. They identify and assess risks and impacts. Based on these assessments, we select and implement mitigation measures and monitor their effectiveness. These studies are carried out periodically to ensure continuous improvement, and we involve the communities where the Community Relations and Human Rights area collaborates.
  • We have operational-level grievance mechanisms open to workers, contractors and any third party potentially affected by our operations.
  • We have selection criteria for corporate security service providers. We include minimum guidelines for ethical and social behaviour in the selection criteria for these providers.
  • We include human rights clauses in all contracts with security forces, where we require compliance with all our policies.
  • We participate and collaborate with the security representatives of other companies in the sector in joint ventures.
  • We train public and private security forces in human rights:
    • All of our employees and employees of our private security companies are trained in human rights.
    • We collaborate with public security forces through specific human rights training in countries such as Colombia and Peru.
    • All of our employees and employees of our private security companies are trained in human rights.
  • We have signed memoranda of understanding with public security forces in order to achieve efficient coordination of our operations.

 

More information in the Annual Report on the Implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights |PDF| 225 KB.

A little girl at the desk smiles in Bolivia

  • Human Rights Training for the Community: In 2018, a teaching staff from the Centre for International Humanitarian Law Studies (CEDIH) was set up and two training courses on Human Rights and International Humanitarian Law were held for members of the Bolivian Army, the Bolivian Air Force and the Bolivian Red Cross, with the following people trained:
    • 82 Army officers and NCOs. 
    • 79 Air Force officers and NCOs. 
    • 10 members of the Bolivian Red Cross. 
  • Participation and collaboration with other sector companies: meetings were held to share best practices on the implementation of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights.
View of a man’s back. Ecuador.

  • Strengthening relations with the security forces. Regular meetings are held to coordinate work to protect assets and people within the policies established by Repsol.
  • Participation and collaboration with other companies in the sector, through meetings for socialisation and understanding of Voluntary Principles, Security and Human Rights with those responsible for Security in oil companies in Ecuador.
Local people in La Guajira. Colombia.

  • Dialogue and participation of the communities, through dialogue sessions with the communities of Alta Guajira, human rights workshops and interviews with the communities to identify human rights impacts.
  • Human rights training for employees and contractors. Coordination and implementation of workshops and conferences on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights (VPSHR) for staff and contractors of the business unit, as well as for contracted private security personnel.

How we do it

A squatting woman working in the field

Committed to human rights

Under our Human Rights and Community Relations Policy, we express our commitment to human rights due diligence and to building strong relationships with communities in our area of influence.