Deal #1151

In September 2022, the women of Suza in Moungo gathered in Yaoundé to voice their complaints about the company. They expressed their desire to regain access to their land, stating, "We are being invaded by Socapalm plantations, which bring us nothing."

No consultation with the forest-dwelling Bagyeli people During the privatisation of the current Socapalm plantation after 2000, the government promised to return thousands of hectares to local communities. However, to date, only a little over 100 hectares have been returned. The concession boundaries are unclear to the communities, and the living space available to them has become insufficient due to the expansion of the plantation. People are unaware of which land has been returned to them or where their customary lands and farms lie within the concession boundaries.

On June 1, 2016, hundreds of community members peacefully mobilized to disrupt Socapalm and Safacam's activities in five plantations (Mbambou, Mbongo, Dibombari, safacam, Kienké) and to challenge the company administration. In June 2020, Mongabay reported on a decade of community resistance around unresolved issues including land rights, poor housing conditions for workers, pollution and a low integration of the local population into the workforce.

Land acquisition conflicts Intimidation and harassment Forced labor under contract Increase in land conflicts between immigrants and local people because of the scarcity of land. Local residents accuse the large-scale agricultural companies of land grabbing and poor treatment of local communities. These communities are severely impacted, facing ongoing land conflicts and environmental issues. While some progress has been made in certain areas, significant challenges persist in addressing the broader range of issues related to Socapalm’s operations.

Traditional authorities of Mbonjo, a village located in Moungo division of the Littoral region accuse SOCAPALM (Société Camerounaise de Palmeraies) of defiling their cultural heritage and landgrabbing. Mbonjo Community is a typical agricultural setting that depends on subsidence economy for survival and can no longer survive because not only have their land be expropriated but they have been denied their source of survival.The group has also been accused of water pollution and inequitable distribution of wealth. For instance, the agrochemicals used in the monocultures and the residues of its Kienké processing plant have massively polluted nearby rivers. Numerous reports also confirm that Socapalm is taking villagers’ lands outright. Increase in land conflicts between immigrants and local people because of the scarcity of land. The group is also accused of human rights violations, and in some cases of sexual harassment in its activities, the company retorts that it has implemented a zero tolerance policy regarding harassment, violence against women, and that “This issue was the subject of a specific audit by the auditors of SCS Global Services during the certification audits of the first two plantations; during this specific audit, no element was able to demonstrate these allegations ” In 2022 January it was recorded that some 145 Cameroonians were rejected by the French justice when they wanted to force the Bolloré group to provide documents supposed to establish its links with a Cameroonian company that they accuse of attacking their rights. According to their lawyer, Fyodor Rilov, the exploitation of palm groves by the Cameroonian company Socapalm "inflicts daily harm on them" by condemning access to land and burial sites as well as polluting the waters.The activities of the company affected the quality of their environment and posed a serious risk to their health. In June 2022, SOCAPALM idicated that on contrary to the image given, Socapalm has set itself the task of promoting the long-term socio-economic development of the rural regions where it operates, while strengthening and protecting the rights of communities, their quality of life and the environment. In August 2022 the Mbonjo residents filed complaints about the company planting palm trees where they buried their family(burial site) The company is being accused of land grabbing, permanent deforestation, environmental pollution and waterborne diseases, The Afrise women's association launched an international petition to stop the replanting of oil palm monocultures around their homes and over the grave sites of their ancestors. They are denouncing decades of sexual abuse, land dispossession and misery. They are demanding that their territory be returned to them, so that they can lead a life of dignity. Pollution of rivers, lakes, and air, linked to the company’s activitiesEvidence of sexual harassment and problems with land concession agreements and compensation schemes. Socfin is criticized for lacking proper safeguards and due diligence.

In 2013, an action plan was signed between Bolloré Group and some ten NGOs defending the rights of communities on the issue of palm oil production in Cameroon. It was intended to improve the living conditions of residents and workers of SOCAPALM.

The Bolloré Group is accused of never having respected its commitments.

Water Wells

According to the company sources neigbouring communities have access to free education for their children in schools built by Socapalm and also have free access to Socapalm’s medical services. Socapalm provides several villages with electrical connections of medium and low voltage; several drinking water units are also installed in the villages, as well as boreholes and wells for which Socapalm ensures repair and maintenance.Furthermore, Socapalm ensures the excavation and re-profiling of roads, construction and maintenance of bridges connecting the villages to each other and to the urban centers.

In 2013, an action plan was signed between Bolloré Group and some ten NGOs defending the rights of communities on the issue of palm oil production in Cameroon. It was intended to improve the living conditions of residents and workers of SOCAPALM. Several stakeholders filed a complaint with SGS in November 2020 and Assurance Services International (ASI), the accreditation organisation, in June 2021. Alleging a flawed certification process that led to two new positive certification decisions for Safacam in Cameroon and SOGB in Ivory Coast. Two controversial companies, according to civil society and affected communities. The complainants monitored the process and found that the consultation announcement was not made in the appropriate language, communities and subgroups in communities were not able to join the consultation meetings or were not invited in the first place. On the 1st of July 2021: The local communities in Cameroon had a press conference in Yaounde to protest against the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) certificate awarded to Socfin’s daughter company SAFACAM in Cameroon on 30 December 2020. The communities allege that SAFACAM does not comply with various social and environmental RSPO principles and criteria. The certificate was awarded by certification body SCS Global Services (SCS) despite a flawed process, that did not take important information from relevant stakeholders into account. The legal battle initiated by the associations to force Bolloré to remedy the human rights violations denounced in the context of the activities of the Cameroonian subsidiary Socapalm is still ongoing. The appeal judge once again ruled in favour of the associations: one more step for the victims. The Afrise women's association launched an international petition to stop the replanting of oil palm monocultures around their homes and over the grave sites of their ancestors.