Deal #2006

Congo, Dem. Rep.
Created at
2013-02-15
Last update
2023-03-13
Last full update
2023-03-13

Recognition status of community land tenure

Recognition status of community land tenure
Community traditional or customary rights recognized by government

Consultation of local community

Community consultation
Limited consultation
Comment on consultation of local community
In late October/early November representatives from the company visited the local communities and heard their concerns.

How did the community react?

Community reaction
Rejection

Presence of land conflicts

Presence of land conflicts
Yes
Comment on presence of land conflicts
In 2015, the company split the plantation into 138 concessions, making its management shady, with no local communities ever involved. The AFD branch neverseems to have cared about these allegations. During several meetings with civil society organisations, Proparco's representatives have reportedly transferred the responsibility for this verification to its "European counterparts

Displacement of people

Displacement of people
Yes
Comment on displacement of people
deprived them of their customary access to forests and water

Negative impacts for local communities

Negative impacts for local communities
Environmental degradation, Cultural loss, Displacement, Violence
Comment on negative impacts for local communities
Feronia and her security firm dealing with "plantation security" have also been the subject of numerous allegations of human rights violations. For example, on February 21, a young man, Blaise Mokwe, had to cross the company's plantations to visit his mother, who was located 25 kilometers from Lokutu, in the small village of Mosite. With a machete in hand, as is often the case in this area, Blaise was stopped by the company's "industrial guards". "They thought he was a palm nut thief and beat him up," his older brother, Eddy Baitata Lisemu, said. He was taken to Lokutu Prison, but released several hours later and died later that night.According to a medical report that Disclose obtained, the young man died of a "broken right forearm" and a traumatic chest wound. The next day, the company will pay the family 86 euros (200,000 Congolese francs) for the coffin. The company, is also accused of uncontrolled deforestation in the Congo Basin

Materialized benefits for local communities

Materialized benefits for local communities
Health, Education, Other
Comment on materialized benefits for local communities
Potable water

Presence of organizations and actions taken (e.g. farmer organizations, NGOs, etc.)

Presence of organizations and actions taken (e.g. farmer organizations, NGOs, etc.)
A formal complaint by the Congolese land rights campaigners RIAO-RDC on behalf of the communities was filed in 2018 with Germany’s aid bank, leader of a continental group of development lenders to the business. An investigation is under way. CDC Group has said that it supports an independent mediation arising from the complaint.