Corporación Dinant statement on finca occidental plantation

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  • sábado 18 abril 2015

    Corporación Dinant statement on finca occidental plantation

    Tegucigalpa, Honduras, April 18, 2015:

    Earlier today, government security forces – acting under direct instruction from the Honduran courts and with no involvement by Dinant – peacefully removed around 150 illegal trespassers who had invaded Corporación Dinant’s “Finca Occidental” African Palm plantation in the Bajo Aguán region.

    Company spokesman, Roger Pineda, said, “I want to thank and congratulate those public authorities that participated in the removal of these illegal trespassers and whose presence in the Bajo Aguán is no doubt deterring many more invasions. Unfortunately, this is the third incident that the authorities have had to handle in the Bajo Aguán this week, and all three evictions have been carried out quickly, peacefully and without incident.”

    Corporación Dinant has regularly suffered invasions by illegal trespassers, many of whom are armed with illegal weapons. The removal of trespassers has always been undertaken exclusively by Government security forces, acting within the law and under direct instruction from the Honduran courts, whose rulings are based on evidence that proves beyond doubt that Dinant are the rightful owners of the lands in question.

    Mr. Pineda continued, “While Governments and their security forces have primary responsibility for enforcing law and order, we know that we can help improve difficult situations by respecting and following local laws and international standards, by mitigating the potential for conflict, and by helping the public authorities as much as we can. That is why Dinant has removed all firearms from the security guards at all its plantations, extraction mills and manufacturing plants. We are proud that we will be the first company in Honduras and throughout the global agribusiness sector to fully implement the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, which govern how we vet, recruit and train our security staff, and how they engage with members of the community.”

    About Corporación Dinant

    Corporación Dinant is a family-owned consumer products manufacturer founded in Honduras in 1960 by Miguel Facusse. Its products are sold throughout Central America and the Dominican Republic, and are exported to global markets. Dinant employs 8,000 people, directly supports over 22,000 livelihoods, generates many millions of US dollars in exports for the Honduran economy, and contributes significantly to all the communities and countries in which its operates.

    Dinant rigorously benchmarks it operations against the principles of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) regarding the economic, environmental and social impact of its African Palm oil business. The company is modernizing its community engagement programs by recruiting Community Social Liaison Staffand introducing local Grievance Mechanisms throughout Honduras.

    Roger Pineda, roger.pineda@dinant.com, +(504) 2239-8800