Indonesia: RAN reports abuse of Indigenous rights of Long Isun Village by timber companies allegedly controlled by Harita Group and calls for sourcing global brands to engage; incl. co. responses
Rainforest Action Network (RAN)'s new report "Keep Forests Standing: How Local Community Resistance is Saving the Last Rainforests of Borneo" highlights the Dayak Bahau of Long Isun, an Indigenous community in Borneo that has been conserving and managing critical forests for generations but is now at risk of losing them to industrial development by two timber companies allegedly controlled by the Harita Group. It calls on global brands like Procter & Gamble, Mondeléz, Nestlé, Colgate-Palmolive, Nissin Foods, PepsiCo, Unilever and Itochu Kenzai Corporation that have disclosed sourcing palm oil from mills that are controlled by the Harita Group, to engage with the company and ensure that the two forestry companies cancel their plans to log the customary forests of the Long Isun community. It emphasizes the need for brands to uphold their commitments to the rights of Indigenous communities and to keep intact rainforests standing.
The Harita Group's response to RAN is available here.
Business & Human Rights Resource Centre invited seven companies that are mentioned in the report as sourcing global brands of the Harita Group. Responses by Nestlé, Nissin Foods, Unilever, Mondeléz and Itochu Corporation are available below. Other companies did not response.