Investigation confirms further human rights violations on Socfin plantations in Nigeria and Sierra Leone

In 2023, Socfin commissioned a consulting firm to investigate long-standing allegations of human rights abuses and environmental damage made by communities surrounding the Belgian transnational’s oil palm and rubber plantations in Africa and Southeast Asia. The results of a second round of investigations have now been published.

Investigators from supply chain consultancy Earthworm Foundation visited a subsidiary in Sierra Leone, Socfin Agricultural Company (SAC), and one of the holding company’s four Cameroonian operations, SAFACAM. They found evidence of sexual harassment, problems with concession contracts and compensation schemes, and numerous cases of contamination of water sources and environmental degradation affecting neighbouring communities in Sierra Leone and Cameroon.

“The (SAC) report shows that Socfin has failed to take safeguards and exercised due diligence,” said Joseph Rahall of the Sierra Leonean advocacy group Green Scenery.

Rahall, whose organization has played a leading role in raising concerns about Socfin’s practices since the plantation was founded in 2011, said he was surprised by the report’s candor.

Investigators found pollution of rivers, lakes and lagoons in both Sierra Leone and Cameroon that could be linked to the company’s activities. In Sierra Leone, they reported, the company does not always take the measures to reduce air pollution suggested in the environmental, social and health impact assessment carried out when the plantation was established in 2011.

Earthworm investigators told Mongabay they were shocked by some of their findings. While disputes over land and lease agreements — and their implementation by Socfin’s subsidiaries — have been at the heart of complaints against the company from the start, investigators found that sexual harassment and gender-based violence were major problems on all the plantations they visited.

EF made a number of recommendations in each of its reports. In response to findings of widespread gender-based violence, the consultancy recommended strengthening reporting mechanisms and policies on Socfin’s respective plantations. However, a recent update to its action plan for Salala Rubber Corporation in Liberia, published after the first phase of the investigation in 2023, states that many of the actions are either “underway” or “pending for initiation” and have not resulted in tangible change.

“We have found (evidence of sexual harassment) and they know they need to address it. A global response and a company-wide strengthening of how they deal with it is a must,” said Charlotte Opal, the foundation’s director of memberships and partnerships.

Earthworm specifically did not recommend compensation for victims of gender-based violence or supporting the prosecution of perpetrators. Opal said EF had no expertise in this area. “Socfin is working with a local expert to advise them on their policy. Perhaps compensation is part of that,” she said.

She stressed that while Earthworm has made recommendations, it is up to Socfin to put them into action. “We have no power over Socfin, but we demand that they push ahead with their actions and explain themselves when they encounter difficulties. If they do not make progress on these issues, we will stop working with them because that is our mission as a foundation.”

Meanwhile, the relationship between Socfin and local communities in West and Central Africa continues to deteriorate, with the exception of Sierra Leone. The Malen Affected Land Owners and Users Association (MALOA) has participated in a land mapping process that Socfin has committed to in early 2023. It will reassess areas and determine land ownership, which has been unclear since 2011.

“The fact that Socfin is doing the mapping under the law means that they may want to comply with some aspects of the law,” Rahall said.

MALOA was one of the few local organizations that agreed to participate in Earthworm’s investigation.

Because the Earthworm Foundation was hired by Socfin, some of its critics claim that the paid consultants are inherently biased. Even though the foundation’s research has confirmed most of the allegations that communities have made against the company, skepticism remains.

“We would have liked to see stricter recommendations. Some things were left out,” Rahall said, referring to the company’s failure to implement a contract grower program for the SAC plantation, mentioned in the memorandum of understanding between the company and the Sierra Leonean government.

Although some progress is being made in Sierra Leone, this is not the case in the other countries where the investor operates. In Liberia, for example, the publication of the final report of a five-year World Bank investigation into serious human rights violations at SRC was delayed by more than six months. The recent leak of information about Socfin’s intention to sell its controversial subsidiary has drawn criticism from community leaders and international non-governmental organizations.

In an open letter, they said the company was trying to avoid possible compensation payments and other redress measures for communities harmed by the World Bank investigation.

In Cameroon, land issues and other problems remain unresolved. And in Nigeria, the communities surrounding the plantation of Socfin subsidiary Okomu Oil Palm have been subjected to a wave of extreme violence in recent months. Several villages were burned down and six people were shot dead, including plantation workers and villagers.

The Nigerian News Agency quoted the governor as saying the violence was carried out by “terrorist organizations,” but community leader Sunday Ajele blamed Okomu Oil Palm and the Nigerian government. “The company is the instigator of this crisis. They are using our people to divide the communities,” he said in a phone conversation with Mongabay. He claimed the latest attack was related to the company’s security and accused the government of protecting Okomu. “The government is not taking the villagers’ complaints seriously,” he said.

Ajele said the investigation team had questioned him about allegations that the company was responsible for violence against community members, as well as blocking access roads and polluting rivers, but he had not heard of the release of the report.

Earthworm told Mongabay that it expects to publish results on the Okomu oil palm and another plantation in Cameroon later this month, while a study on Cambodia is due out later in the year.

While the investigations have no direct legal consequences for Socfin, the results could lead to a review of the company’s status as a supplier of sustainable palm oil. “Many of the results are in complete contradiction to the RSPO (Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil) report,” said Florence Kroff of the human rights organization FIAN International.

In recent years, most of Socfin’s plantations have been certified by the RSPO. “The RSPO auditors certified in their report that Socfin meets all criteria, including food security, access to land, compensation and no land conflicts. Earthworm claims the opposite, so we will have to wait and see what happens next,” says Kroff, who does not expect Earthworm to push for a review of Socfin’s status as a supplier of sustainable palm oil.

Socfin did not respond to Mongabay’s request for comment, but said in a public statement following the reports: “Socfin agrees with Earthworm that more needs to be done to further address these concerns and that some serious issues require immediate action.” The statement also said the company had already implemented so-called “corrective actions” to address the issues.

When a palm oil company from Cameroon receives RSPO certification, it is also found to be in breach of

Banner image: Plantation of the Socfin Agricultural Company, Sahn, 2012. Photo by Maja Hitij.

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