"Arbitrary harassment and criminalization of land activists in Malen Chiefdom, peacefully objecting to the RSPO certification of SOCFIN", 5 May 2022

Members of the Malen Affected Land Owners and Users Association (MALOA) and signatories of a petition objecting to the certification of SOCFIN Agricultural Company by the Roundtable for Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) have been a target of arbitrary harassment and criminalization.

Green Scenery is concerned about the constriction of freedom of expression of land activists who peacefully advocate for their rights. Green Scenery urges the local authorities to refrain from limiting the civic space of Human Rights Defenders in Malen Chiefdom.

On the 10th of March 2022, MALOA issued a petition signed by 1,475 of its members to object to the Certification of SOCFIN by the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) in January 2022. MALOA argues therein that the RSPO auditor lacked independence from the company and therefore assessed many issues wrongly in its report...