Monrovia – A group of 10 Liberian civil society organizations has agreed to new course of action in their advocacy for equitable distribution of wealth within the palm oil sector and reform of the palm oil sector.
The oil palm sector has had its share of conflicts over the last decade between companies and host communities. In May 2015 a riot broke up between locals and Golden Veroleum in Butaw, Sinoe County, resulting to injuries and loss of properties.
There have also been strings of riots between communities and oil palm companies in Grand Bassa and Grand Cape Mount over the last five years.
The Civil Society Oil Palm Working Group said they recognized that the agriculture sector has a potential to contribute to food security but could not realize such potential in the absence of progressive policies and robust regulatory framework to govern investments in the sector.
They said there were inadequate laws and policies governing the sector, and so had to provide enabling conditions for realizing the full potential of the agriculture sector.
The group said it would focus on land rights and benefits, legal and regulatory framework, and the safety and security of human rights defenders.
They added it would also focus on capacity building for civil society actors to be active in communities and teaching the communities to know and demand their rights, as well as alternative livelihood for locals.
“The concession agreements with Sime Darby and Golden Veroleum Liberia have provisions that do not comply with Liberian laws and international human rights
standards,” the group said in a declaration recently after a two-day retreat at the Foundation for Community Initiative (CFI), one of the organizations composing the group.
“The duration of these agreements violate the statutory limit on duration of government leasing of public land, their securities have the powers to arrest and detain Liberians, and they have the right to restrict freedom of movement,” it added in reference to the two major oil palm concessions in Liberia.
The group in the declaration said oil palm companies needed to improve their practices on the ground so that they reflect full recognition and respect for women’s rights and interests, and broadly human rights. The Liberia Land Authority Act must be further strengthened for communities’ land-related grievances to be adequately redressed, it said.
“The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) is urging the new government of Liberia to ensure that oil palm companies respect human rights (especially those of local communities) in compliance with international best practices as well as fulfilling their obligations agreed in memoranda of understanding with local communities,” lead campaigner James Otto said.
Other members of the group include Save My Future Foundation (SAMFU), Rights and Rice Foundation (RRF), Green Advocates and Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD).
Oil palm recently hit and global headlines, with the European Parliament placing a ban on its use in the production of biofuels in European Union countries. The takes effect on January 1, 2022.
The move, following years of debate, has been welcomed across the world by environmentalists and climate change campaigners as a step toward the biggest threat facing the planet today.
“The Sustainable Development Institute (SDI) welcomes the decision of the European Parliament and urges the government of Liberia to improve efforts in protecting Liberia’s remaining rainforest,” said Otto whose group campaigned for the ban.