Tell Cargill: Cut ties with conflict palm oil!

Every day Cargill continues to buy palm oil from REPSA, the palm oil industry continues to devastate forests, waterways, and indigenous peoples’ rights in Guatemala.

If Cargill were to suspend its business with REPSA, it could force the company to reckon seriously with its abuses. But we need your help to push it to act!

Tell Cargill: Stop supporting companies responsible for conflict palm oil!!

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Dear Cargill,

You are among the largest buyers of palm oil from Guatemala, and from a company called REPSA that earned global fame in 2015 when it was linked to the toxic spill in the Rio Pasion and alleged to have a hand in the kidnapping and murder of indigenous land defenders that followed the ecocide. I understand that your company has asked REPSA to improve its practices, so that it meets your corporate sustainability requirements. But Cargill is a multinational agribusiness company – not a human rights organization.

The best thing you can do to help resolve the crisis is to stop buying palm oil from Guatemala.

Why haven’t you done this yet? What are you waiting for?

We’ve recently learned that the first suspects have been arrested in connection with the 2015 killing of Rigoberto Lima Choc -- two years after the murder! Another two years may go by before we know more. Meanwhile, will you continue to support a company suspected of possible involvement, in a region famed for violent conflict, in a country known for letting killers go free?

Since adopting new policies, REPSA continued to threaten, intimidate, and defame people critical of its activities. Cargill should not be associated with anyone who so openly flouts the law. REPSA must be held accountable for its past and current human rights violations and all past environmental crimes associated with the April and June 2015 palm oil effluent spills in the Pasion River.

Aside from the details of this case, vast numbers of indigenous people in the Guatemalan Peten have made it clear that they do not want palm oil where there once was lush rainforest!

I urge you to suspend your ties with REPSA immediately. If you believe your corporate social responsibility is to fix the problems, then keep trying. But stop funneling money into the company as you do so, or your efforts lack both credibility and impact. The best way to address environmental human rights in Guatemala is to stop supporting companies known for defying justice.

Sincerely,

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