Singaporean company retains Sustainable Palm Oil certification despite ongoing land conflicts and violations of international law
Evidence suggests that palm oil conglomerate First Resources are concealing their ownership of two palm oil companies embroiled in land conflicts with indigenous peoples in Indonesia from the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil.
A new report released today alleges the First Resources group, certified by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO), appear to be hiding their control of two palm oil companies that are responsible for extremely harmful and destructive operations, including criminalisation and intimidation of Dayak Agabag indigenous peoples in North Kalimantan, Indonesia.
“Once the company came, and had our land signed off, they framed us as thieves for harvesting our own crops in our own farms. For three months we were locked up.”
Pak Kual, Dayak Agabag peoples, Bebenas village, Kalimantan
This report comes at the same time as the Roundtable Conference (RT) hosted by the RSPO, which begins on November 28th and is a space for members and interested stakeholders to “identify common challenges”. [1]
Read full policy paper here
Watch film here
Palm oil conglomerate First Resources has been an RSPO member since 2008 and supplies some of the world’s major brands including Procter and Gamble, L’Oreal, Mondelez and Nestlé.
The Fangiono-family owned group, however, has failed to acknowledge two palm oil companies - PT Karangjuang Hijau Lestari (PT KHL) and PT Bulungan Hijau Perkasa (PT BHP) – as part of its group, despite the evidence of common ownership, such as sharing the same controlling shareholders. This represents a violation of RSPO membership rules.
PT KHL and PT BHP have been embroiled in a long-standing land conflict with the Dayak Agabag, an indigenous people from North Kalimantan (Indonesian Borneo), since 2004 when they began to clear their ancestral lands to develop palm oil plantations.
“We can’t cultivate our orchards, we have no income. What do we have left. It twists your mind. Every move we take, in this direction or that direction is wrong”.
Ibu Musima, Melasa Baru Community
Both companies were awarded large-scale industrial concessions over Dayak Agabag land in a deal that was found to be in violation of Indonesian law.
Despite this, the Dayak Agabag have been coerced into surrendering large swathes of their territories through criminalization, intimidation and manipulation.
“We have lost so much now. We don’t have anything actually. We are trapped. Where do you move? How? It hurts to say this but we are essentially being trampled over on our own land”
Ibu Musima, Melasa Baru Community
The conflict has escalated in recent years with nine separate criminalization cases brought against members of the community with weak evidence in an apparent effort to deter community resistance to palm oil expansion.
“They came in took pictures, arrested our people and took them away. No word, just reprimands”.
Ibu Yundian, Melasa Baru
There is an open RSPO complaint against the group for allegedly having ownership, control and influence over palm oil companies that it did not declare. The complaint alleges that First Resources control of PT KHL and PT BHP was concealed through offshore companies registered in secrecy jurisdictions, territories that do not publicly disclose company shareholders.
Researchers and investigators have pooled together a growing body of evidence to suggest that PT KHL and PT BHP should be declared as related entities in a corporate group with First Resources for the purpose of RSPO membership.
A failure to act poses a reputational risk to the RSPO certification scheme. If its members maintain the benefits from sustainable certification whilst also continuing to control plantations operating in violation of their sustainability commitments, then it removes legitimacy from the RSPO system.
It is hoped that the RSPO RT 2022 will address this challenge head on by suspending and reviewing all First Resources certificates until the harms caused by PT KHL and PT BHP are remedied and addressed.
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Media contact
Frances Jenner: fjenner@forestpeoples.org
Further Quotes
“We are seen as outsiders even though we are watching our lands get destroyed by the companies”
Pak Tahunan, Community Spokesperson, Bebenas village
“We’re the true rightsholders, we’ve worked these lands since time immemorial long before Indonesian independence. We are the ones with rights.”
Pak Kual, Bebenas village
“We are really being pushed around now. Even if we want a little land to farm, we can’t. They took all of it.”
Daud Kasulin, Bebenas village
“We don’t say they are paying anyone off but they are the more lucrative party between the two of us. They can use that to seal lips and twist tongues.”
Pak Tahunan, Community Spokesperson, Bebenas village
Overview
- Resource Type:
- Press Releases
- Publication date:
- 28 November 2022
- Region:
- Indonesia
- Programmes:
- Supply Chains and Trade Conservation and human rights Global Finance Territorial Governance Culture and Knowledge