"OECD Watchdog Admits Case Filed by Indigenous Organizations Against Louis Dreyfus Company B.V", 04 September 2023

...[T]he Dutch National Contact Point (NCP) for the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises found that the submission against Louis Dreyfus Company B.V. filed by Peruvian Indigenous Leaders with the support of local and international NGOs merits further consideration and offered its good offices to the parties. According to the complaint, the Dutch company is linked to palm oil suppliers in Peru that are violating Indigenous land rights under national and international law, and have been found to operate in contravention with Peruvian legislation.

This is the first time the Dutch NCP has addressed the alleged breach of OECD guidelines by a major palm oil commodity trader.

This case concerns the business relationship between Louis Dreyfus Company B.V. and one of its palm oil suppliers in Peru, the Ocho Sur Group. Ocho Sur operates on lands in the Peruvian Amazon that were unlawfully appropriated under national and international law, and are part of the ancestral territory of the Indigenous Community of Santa Clara de Uchunya and the Shipibo-Konibo people.

The oil palm plantations run by Ocho Sur U and Ocho Sur P led to over 12,000 hectares of illegal deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest, 91% of it being primary forest. The oil palm plantations continue to operate to this day without environmental certifications...

The Dutch NCP further acknowledged that the submission contains extensive information and refers to a wide variety of reports by international organizations and NGOs concerning negative impacts on human rights and the environment related to the palm oil industry in Peru and the role of LDC as a major commodities trader sourcing palm oil...

The NCP will now enquire with both parties whether they are willing to engage in a mediation process, with the aim of agreeing how the issues to be taken into consideration can be successfully addressed...