A two-year investigation into 139 complaints lodged by communities in Africa and Asia affected by tropical plantation company Socfin has confirmed that many of the allegations are at least partly valid, according to a statement released by a collective of 33 civil society organizations from around the world.
The statement follows the final report by the Earthworm Foundation (EF), a nonprofit that was commissioned by Socfin to look into the allegations of communities in Côte d’Ivoire against Socfin’s Ivorian subsidiary SOGB in Grand Béréby.
In its visit to Côte d’Ivoire, EF confirmed SOGB concessions encroached village land, labor issues, and the plantation’s history of non-compliance with free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) standards.
Previously, during its two-year investigation, EF visited 12 Socfin-owned plantations in Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria, Sierra Leone and Cambodia. These visits also found ongoing severe human rights violations, prompting EF to urge Socfin to take meaningful action.
“Earthworm is trying its best by conducting field visits to better understand the problems facing communities and workers, but it is unable to change Socfin’s policy,” Emmanuel Elong, a community member and the president of the National Synergy of Peasants and Residents of Cameroon (Synaparcam), told Mongabay in a message.
The civil society signatories of the recent statement analyzed all EF reports published over the past two years and found that almost two-thirds (59%) of the communities’ grievances were confirmed as “founded” or “partially founded.” About one-third (30%) of the allegations were labeled as “unfounded,” while the rest were “not determined.”
In seven Socfin-owned concessions in Liberia, Sierra Leone and Cameroon, EF found evidence of gender-based violence by company employees. Labor violations and compromised livelihoods were found in nine plantations and land conflicts and environmental degradation in eight. Destruction of sacred sites was confirmed in four.
Community members and civil society say in their statement that, despite confirmed violations, many problems highlighted by EF against Socfin remain unresolved. They add that EF’s independence from Socfin is also questionable.
Responding to Mongabay’s request for comment, a Socfin spokesperson told Mongabay by email that the collective statement offers a “broad brush overview” that “understates both the calibrated nature of the EF findings and the tangible progress we have already made.”
He pointed to Socfin’s recently published sexual harassment and violence action plan which he said the company will use to address issues of gender-based violence across its operations within the next nine months.
“The issues raised in this press release are serious,” EF’s Jotica Sehgal told Mongabay by email. “The findings of our investigation clearly show that change is needed, and we agree that the company must go further and faster.”
Sehgal said EF will continue its work with Socfin and is planning a “field verification process” to follow up on action plan implementation at three sites this year.
Banner image: A young oil palm plantation in Sierra Leone next to community land. Image courtesy of Maja Hitij.
This story first appeared on Mongabay
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