May 28, 2021
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“… indicators of human trafficking and forced labor
and other severe forms of labor exploitation.”
Organizational sign-on deadline: June 3, 2021
Violently exploited communities of global south countries
endlessly taking on the unjust, unequal, global economic and political order,
500 years in the making
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Invitation for organizations to endorse this …
Open Letter to Cargill Corp. (https://www.cargill.com/), Nestle (https://www.nestle.com/) & other multinational companies benefitting from violent, corrupt African palm oil production in Guatemala
(Additional disclosure is needed by Unilever, PepsiCo, Ferrero, Mars, Mondelēz, Colgate Palmolive, Wilmar, Oleofinos and AAK, on the status of their palm oil sourcing from REPSA and the Olmeca Group.)
From Jeff Conant, Friends of the Earth–US
Dear friends, I’m ask you to join an effort in solidarity with Guatemalan civil society organizations facing ongoing social and environmental threats from conflict palm oil producers. We have recently learned that Cargill, Nestle and other multinationals have re-established sourcing relationships with Reforestadora de Palmas de El Petén, S. A (REPSA), despite the company having failed to address deep-seated concerns that caused the multinational to suspend their business ties to REPSA in 2017/2018.
Below, a draft open letter to Cargill, Nestle and other multinationals calling on them to ensure that, given serious previous unresolved and ongoing environmental and human rights concerns, they do not recommence sourcing of palm oil from Reforestadora de Palmas de El Petén, S. A (REPSA) directly, or via its parent corporate Olmeca/Hame Group (https://grupohame.com/).
This current letter has been developed by Action Aid, Rainforest Action Network, Friends of the Earth-US, and Forest Peoples’ Programme in coordination with local organisations. It follows an earlier letter sent to Cargill by the same NGOs in November 2015 demanding suspension of business relations with REPSA due to massive ecological damage to the Pasión River, and violence and human rights abuses associated with REPSA supply chains and operations, including repression and killings of leaders taking action against the company.
Cargill eventually suspended REPSA in 2017 and Nestle in 2018 after courts confirmed systemic corruption among REPSA staff.
Indications have now come to light that both downstream companies have recommenced sourcing from REPSA without any public evidence of their due diligence and seemingly without taking into account the views and demands of local organisations and affected communities, which must be a decisive factor in sustainable commodity sourcing.
The letter below is a final draft and it is not expected that major changes can be made at this stage, unless endorsing organisations consider there are major redlines, factual errors or serious gaps that need addressing.
Send endorsements, including organization name and logo, by June 3, to: [email protected]
Thank you!
Jeff Conant, FoE-US
510-900-0016, [email protected], @conantj
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Open Letter
7 June 2021
To All Multinationals Resuming Palm Oil Sourcing from REPSA in Sayaxché, Guatemala
The undersigned organizations are raising the alarm on decisions made by Cargill, Nestlé and potentially other consumer goods manufacturers and agri-business traders to resume sourcing from Reforestadora de Palma S.A. (REPSA) in Sayaxché, in the Petén department of Guatemala, despite REPSA’s failure to consult with and address the grievances of the communities affected by ecocide and intimidation.
In April 2017, a collective of local and international organizations called on Cargill, Nestlé and other clients of REPSA and its parent company the Olmeca Group, to adopt a No Buy Policy and to suspend sourcing from REPSA until an independent third party verification process could demonstrate that it had met a set of minimum requirements to do the following:
• Halt intimidation of environmental and human rights defenders;
• Conduct a transparent investigation to uncover and address any involvement of REPSA management in the murder of Rigoberto Lima Choc and the illegal detention of Hermelindo Asig Mo, Lorenzo Pérez Mendoza and Manuel Pérez Ordoñez, on 18 September 2015;
• Address company responsibility for the contamination of the Pasión River, which had devastating consequences on the environment, public health and the social fabric of the surrounding communities;
• Begin the process of meaningfully acknowledging past harms and demonstrate a concerted commitment to provide remedy to local stakeholders for the adverse impacts of the spill and irresponsible palm oil production practices, including exploitative working conditions.
By resuming palm oil sourcing from REPSA without taking all of the aforementioned steps; without REPSA responding to the letter of complaint sent by the United Nations Human Rights Rapporteurs; with REPSA having delayed the resolution of the judicial case on its ecocide of the Pasión River; and with having failed to commit to consultations with the communities affected by human rights abuses and the 2015 ecocide, Cargill and Nestlé are once again complicit in the ongoing exploitation of local communities, workers, and the local ecology, as well as betraying the trust of their customers and financial backers.
Shockingly, Cargill and Nestlé failed to establish credible and effective monitoring and third-party verification processes with all interested parties. Both companies have made a poorly informed and unjustifiable decision to resume sourcing based on incomplete information.
Other than vague public assertions that REPSA has a commitment to ‘meet milestones’ and that ‘good progress’ is deemed to have been made by this palm oil supplier company, Cargill and Nestlé have not publicly disclosed adequate information on human rights and environmental due diligence on this palm oil supplier with a proven track record of non-compliance with sustainable sourcing standards.
In line with the UN Guiding Principles Reporting Framework and other due diligence standards, disclosure should demonstrate that downstream multinational companies have followed robust procedures to assess REPSA’s compliance with applicable human rights and sustainability standards in its current operations, and to evaluate the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of REPSA’s remedies for existing unresolved grievances.
Crucially, disclosure should explain what third-party verification has been conducted to inform decisions to reengage REPSA as a supplier in this specific case. Disclosure must also advise the public and consumers what supply chain due diligence procedures the companies are adhering to.
Only by following these steps can it be determined in good faith when and if they should resume sourcing from past suppliers eliminated due to the intimidation of human rights defenders and serious environmental violations.
Actors in the region have continued to raise grave concerns regarding the lack of progress in the judicial process against REPSA, wherein the company has sought recusal of judges and continued to flout the law; the company’s failure to respond to the demands of the communities impacted in proportion to the damages caused by the ecocide; and its failure to implement effective strategies to ensure environmental sustainability in the region.
In a letter dated November 9, 2020, the UN Special Rapporteur for the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, the UN Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery, the UN Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders, and the Chair of the United Nations Working Group on Business and Human Rights wrote to the Government of Guatemala urging it to protect the human rights of the affected communities, noting that they had received allegations concerning labor practices and violations by REPSA and its contractors (along with other firms, namely Industrias Chiquibul SA, Cauchos y Palmas SA, Tikindustrias SA, Servicios Diversos del Campo SA and Nacional Agroindustrial SA) that “could be constitutive of indicators of human trafficking and forced labor and other severe forms of labor exploitation.”
A public statement published on April 25, 2021, and signed by 40 Guatemalan civil society organizations, many based in the affected communities, notes in particular that no responsibility has been taken or restitution made for the environmental disaster or “ecocide” of 2015, which was caused by REPSA according to an investigation by the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
The REPSA effluent spill affected over 150 kilometers of the Pasion River and killed many thousands of fish and animals representing dozens of species, and caused communities to lose their livelihoods and clean water.
The statement also notes other serious harms to communities caused by the actors in the palm oil supply chain, including loss of land rights, loss of access to water, violations of the rights of women, and labor rights violations that affect communities. Rights holders and human rights defenders also reported in April 2021 that intimidation and a climate of fear persists in and around REPSA plantations and operations in relation to anyone who might speak out against the company and its local business partners. This includes reports that plantation workers suffering labor abuses face threats of job loss if found to complain about pay or working conditions.
Given the above serious ongoing human rights and environmental harms and risks connected with REPSA operations, the undersigned CSOs are calling on Cargill, Nestlé and others to:
• Reinstate and continue the suspension of sourcing from REPSA until the judicial process has reached a satisfactory conclusion regarding the case of ecocide.
• Fully disclose and explain their process of ongoing supply chain due diligence with regard to REPSA and its third-party suppliers and business partners, with particular attention to due diligence to protect and uphold human rights and the environment.
• Accept the undertaking of a thorough, objective and transparent independent investigation into the complaints represented in ongoing reports of human rights violations and environmental damage in REPSA operations and supply chains.
• Initiate a process of serious and responsible dialogue to reach agreements for verifiable and practical solutions with impacted communities and Guatemalan civil society organizations, with the participation of independent observers to address the distinct issues involved in the complaints of the communities and agricultural workers taking into account the letter from the UN Human Rights Rapporteurs and the civil society statement.
• Repair and redress the environmental damage done in the affected communities.
In conclusion, we are convinced that recent decisions made to resume sourcing from REPSA, or the Olmeca group, such as those made by Cargill and Nestlé must be overturned. Additional disclosure is needed by Unilever, PepsiCo, Ferrero, Mars, Mondelēz, Colgate Palmolive, Wilmar, Oleofinos and AAK, on the status of their sourcing from REPSA and the Olmeca Group.
These brands and palm oil traders have sourced from REPSA, or are sourcing from Guatemala, and are therefore also at risk of being complicit with ongoing human rights violations and need to take the actions detailed above.
We encourage all companies at risk of sourcing from REPSA to publicly report on the suspension of sourcing from REPSA and to disclose the results of independent verification processes undertaken to assess compliance with due diligence processes and the thresholds for resumption of sourcing relationships with REPSA based on compliance with the United Nations Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, as well as the RSPO Principles and Criteria standards, of which REPSA is a member.
Yours sincerely,
List all signatories: …
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Background information
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Why do thousands of Hondurans & Guatemalans flee into exile year after year?
The US and Canadian governments, Spain and the EU, the World Bank and global businesses and investors (in the sectors of mining, dams, African palm, sugarcane, bananas, garment “sweatshop” factors, tourism, etc.) maintain enriching and empowering relations with anti-democratic, corrupt, repressive governments in Honduras and Guatemala, contributing to and benefitting from exploitation and poverty, environmental harms, repression and human rights violations, corruption and impunity.
Act / Stir up the pot / Chip away
Keep sending copies of Rights Action information (and that of other solidarity groups/ NGOs) to family, friends, your networks, politicians and media, asking ‘Why do our governments, companies and investment firms benefit from and turn a blind eye to poverty, repression and violence, environmental and health harms that caused the forced migrancy / refugee crisis in Guatemala and Honduras?’
Rights Action (US & Canada)
Since 1995, Rights Action: funds human rights, environment and territory defense struggles in Guatemala and Honduras; funds victims of repression and human rights violations, health harms and natural disasters (Covid19, hurricanes, etc.); and works to hold accountable the U.S. and Canadian governments, multi-national companies, investors and banks (World Bank, etc.) that help cause and profit from exploitation and poverty, repression and human rights violations, environmental harms, corruption and impunity in Honduras and Guatemala.
Follow work of and get involved with other solidarity/NGO groups
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Tax-Deductible Donations (Canada & U.S.)
To support land, human rights and environmental defender groups in Honduras and Guatemala, and COVID and hurricane relief work, make check to "Rights Action" and mail to:
- U.S.: Box 50887, Washington DC, 20091-0887
- Canada: (Box 552) 351 Queen St. E, Toronto ON, M5A-1T8
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