DINANT CATEGORICALLY REJECTS THE UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS MADE IN THE CIR REPORT “IN THE SHADE OF THE OIL PALM: OIL PALM REPORT 2024”
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jueves 29 febrero 2024
DINANT CATEGORICALLY REJECTS THE UNFOUNDED ALLEGATIONS MADE IN THE CIR REPORT “IN THE SHADE OF THE OIL PALM: OIL PALM REPORT 2024”
The CIR Romero Initiative report, which was released in February 2024, presents a series of erroneous, unfounded, and unsupported assumptions against Dinant and its employees.
Dinant is a law-abiding corporate citizen committed to transparency and respect for human rights.
The CIRs report makes irresponsible assumptions and defamatory statements that require the following immediate clarification:
- More than 97.5% of the land Dinant acquired in the Aguan Region was purchased over 20 years ago. At that time, land was customarily purchased “As Is,” and pricing was determined by various criteria.
- If the land had an existing plantation, pricing factors would include the kind of species planted and/or livestock present (i.e., corn, beans, palm oil trees, cattle, etc.).
- In the case of palm oil trees, more precise criteria according to the physiological stage of the plantation (such as the age and health of the trees).
- Existing infrastructure on the land being bought, such as fences, drainage systems, and internal roads.
There was no coercion by Dinant with respect to the land purchase agreements. In the spirit of full transparency, Dinant has consistently offered to open its land title documents for inspection by any neutral party, and most recently shared all ownership documentation with a Honduran government commission. Unfortunately, at this moment, 6,345 hectares are illegally occupied.
- Dinant is deeply committed to respect for human rights and, in May 2014, made a policy decision to disarm all of its security guards. Dinant became the first Honduran member and the first agribusiness worldwide to awarded full membership in the prestigious Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative.
- Dinant and its owners have never been involved in any activities related to drug trafficking or any other type of illegal activity. Like many other companies in the region, Dinant has been victimized by drug traffickers who have used our property illegally and without our permission to move their contraband. We strongly condemn such actions and will report any illegal activity found on Dinant property to the appropriate authorities.
The CIR report’s lack of substantive rigor and baseless allegations reveal a fundamental misconception of both Dinant and the challenges attendant to conducting business in Honduras. To address this, Dinant invites the authors of the report “In the Shade of the Oil Palm: Oil palm Report 2024” to visit our facilities in the Aguan region to meet with the company’s employees, suppliers, contractors, and members of local communities. We are confident that such a transparent dialogue process would help the authors to better understand and appreciate not only Dinant’s operations but also the context of the oil palm agroindustry in Honduras.
- More than 97.5% of the land Dinant acquired in the Aguan Region was purchased over 20 years ago. At that time, land was customarily purchased “As Is,” and pricing was determined by various criteria.