The Civil Society Oil Palm Working Group of Liberia (CSO-OPWG) has called on the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) to immediately reinstate the stop-work order on Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL), citing unresolved compliance issues and unfulfilled conditions related to land use and community rights.
At a press conference held on Monday, September 1, a CSO-OPWG representative Sampson M. Williams said the group was deeply concerned about RSPO’s recent decision to close its post-complaint monitoring process against GVL, despite key requirements from the 2018 RSPO Complaints Panel decision remaining unmet.
“Local communities have been left at the margins of seeking redress, while RSPO’s decision suggests a disregard for their basic fundamental rights,” Williams told journalists in Monrovia. “We want the RSPO to reverse its decision to lift the ban on GVL. We think the decision is ill-advised and not in the interest of the affected communities.”
He pointed to a January 2024 monitoring report issued by CSO-OPWG, which indicated that GVL had largely failed to implement the corrective measures ordered by the RSPO Complaints Panel. These measures included conditions tied to the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA) Grievance Mechanism, such as the development of an integrated conservation land-use plan.
According to CSO-OPWG, RSPO’s principles and criteria explicitly require companies to operate legally, transparently, and with accountability (Principle 2), while also respecting human and community rights and ensuring tangible benefits (Principle 4).
“By closing this case without ensuring compliance, RSPO risks undermining its own credibility as a standard-setting body for responsible palm oil,” Williams added.
The RSPO in July this year lifted the long-standing complaint against GVL based on a final directive from its Complaints Panel, lifting nearly a decade of restrictions on new developments in Butaw and Tarjuowon that had been halted during the investigation period.
The initial complaint, filed by Green Advocates on behalf of communities in Greenville, Butaw, and Kpanyan Districts of Sinoe County, along with Forest Peoples Programme, Sustainable Development Institute Liberia, and Kulu United Development Association, highlighted concerns about GVL’s adherence to Free, Prior, and Informed Consent (FPIC) principles in its projects.
In response to the halt, GVL said it engaged The Forest Trust (now Earthworm Foundation) to conduct on-the-ground assessments and enhance its FPIC processes. Additionally, GVL launched its Sustainability Action Plan to reinforce social and environmental safeguards, ensuring compliance with RSPO Principles and Criteria and other sustainability commitments.
GVL also launched its Sustainability Action Plan to further strengthen its social and environmental protections and ensure continued compliance with RSPO Principles and Criteria and other sustainability commitments.
However, Paul Larry Gerse, Chairperson for Alliance for Rural Democracy (ARD), noted at the press conference on Monday that lifting of the “Stop Work Order” at this time is very troubling for the communities.
“As we speak, in Grand Kru, there is confusion because GVL is carrying the stop order release to communities that are not forced to abide by what they agreed to before in the provisional MoU,” he said. “So, the issue of MoU is a very major issue among the communities. And as we speak, there are other benefits that the communities should have gotten.
“The communities should have gone back to do a participatory mapping according to the stop order,” he noted, adding that GVL representatives should also go back to hold a consultative meeting, especially in Tahjuawon, with the communities whose lands were taken without consultation; they haven’t been able to do that adequately.
“The RSPO’s latest decision has a huge setback on the communities, and they feel that their hopes are dashed,” Gerse said. “We as CSOs working with them are on the front line of responding to every question they will have, which the GVL should have settled under the “Stop Order,” but as long as GVL has not been able to settle these issues or these grievances that the communities have, it is going to be very difficult for them.”
Williams also added that the decision to lift the ban will lead to uprising in the soonest possible time in the affected communities, and to avert that the RSPO and the government must act now.
“There will be huge resistance from the communities. We are the ones that are working in those communities, and we know what we are hearing and seeing,” Williams warned. “We have the ears of the communities. We have gone into the communities, and we have done our facts finding.
“So, if the RSPO wants GVL to operate smoothly in these areas, they should reverse their decision and ensure that GVL goes back to the communities and does the right things. There will continue to be problems if those things are not done,” he warned.
Renee N. Gibson of the Rural Integrated Center for Community Empowerment (RICCE) highlighted the importance of ensuring that community benefits, particularly for women and children, are prioritized in any Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with companies.
These vulnerable groups often bear the brunt of conflicts and stand to lose the most without clear agreements in place to protect their rights and interests.
Gibson emphasized that the absence of documented consultations and evidence of tangible benefits implementation raises concerns regarding the recent decision to lift the ban on GVL.
“When there is a conflict, women and children are the most victimized. So, we want the RSPO to reverse its decision and to go back into the communities because there is no evidence to prove that GVL has implemented the RSPO’s recommendations,” she said. “There is no evidence of meeting or any form of consultations, so I don’t know how the RSPO arrived at the decision of lifting the ban on the company.”
She called for greater accountability from GVL to uphold community rights and ensure that the local population benefits from land use arrangements that affect their livelihoods and well-being.
“We want to call on GVL. They are a company, so they should respect people’s rights. The land belongs to the people and that is their entire livelihood. They depend on the land for their food, health and so many other purposes. The people must benefit from their land if a company is taking over it.”
The CSOs issued three key demands to the RSPO Complaints Panel conduct a formal review of GVL’s compliance with the 2018 decision, with participation from the Liberian government, international environmental organizations, and local civil society, address gaps in the implementation of the decision through stronger follow-up mechanisms, and maintain the stop work order until full compliance is verified to prevent further conflict and violations of international standards.
CSO-OPWG emphasized that RSPO’s integrity and global image depend on its ability to enforce its standards “without fear or favor” while prioritizing sustainability, transparency, and justice for Liberian communities affected by large-scale oil palm operations.
