Realm of Supposition to Moratorium

Effective resolution of social conflicts

- precondition to sourcing certified sustainable palm oil -

1. Oil palm companies have already taken over 7.3 million hectares of land for plantations, resulting in 513 ongoing conflicts between companies and communities. Given the negative social and environmental impacts of oil palm, Sawit Watch demands reform of the Indonesian oil palm plantation system and a re-think of plantation expansion plans.

2. The human rights based approaches (HRBA), stakeholders are obliged to consider that their practices and engagements in sustainable development should recognise, respect, and protect rights of local communities and indigenous peoples as regulated in international laws, which recently are ratified by Indonesia. It is obvious that Indonesia is a state party to some human rights conventions on civil and political, economic, social, and cultural, non-discrimination, and respect for labour rights.

3. International standards and best practices set up under 8 principles and 39 criteria for sustainable palm oil production (RSPO) also uphold some criteria 2.2, 2.3, 7.5, and 7.6 regarding land acquisition, conflict resolution, information and participation, participatory social and environmental impact assessments, allowing adequate community representation, negotiation and reaching binding agreements.

4. Oil palm buyers and processing companies should have to ensure that they are sourcing materials from ‘free-conflicts palm oil production’ meaning ongoing and future purchasing of crude palm oil (CPO) should be sourcing from oil palm plantation companies with demonstrable socially responsible and environmentally sound practices, in particular to fulfil the following bottom-lines:

i. Respect for ratified international laws

ii. Respect for customary rights

iii. Adherence to the principles of free, prior and informed consent (FPIC)

iv. Respect for workers’ rights

v. Respect for gender equity

vi. No violence in oil palm plantation development

vii. No burning in oil palm planting and replanting

viii. No conversion of primary forests and other high value ecosystems

ix. No certificates where for oil palm where land is legitimately contested by local communities

5. call on the implementation of commitment of the palm oil industry and relevant stakeholders in particular buyers and purchasers of crude palm oil (CPO) from Indonesian oil palm plantations, in order to uphold and ensure socially just and environmentally sustainable sourced materials.

6. the development without justice is not development, it is exploitation!