Dinant Statement
Dinant is aware of the article written by Jared Olson and published in The Intercept on November 6, 2021, about the land conflicts in the Aguán.
The journalist has written similar stories on the land conflicts several times in the past, and the allegations made against Dinant have long been discredited by even our most ardent critics. Over the last decade, Dinant has been the subject of a number of credible and independent inquiries and investigations. Without exception, these have found no evidence that Dinant ever conducted illegal activities, used inappropriate force, or conspired against any person or organization. Relevant investigations include the lengthy and detailed monitoring of Dinant’s activities by the International Finance Corporation’s, the International Criminal Court report about Honduras including the Aguán, and UMVIBA-a unit of the Honduran General Attorney’s office, that have not found wrongdoing by the company’s staff.
A more accurate article on the Aguán would describe how more and more armed criminals are invading private farms, damaging businesses, stealing produce, and threatening local people and jobs; how some farms have been occupied continuously by criminal gangs for over three years without punishment; and how the constant threat of violence is damaging local economies, increasing unemployment, and forcing hard-working families to migrate out of desperation.
Dinant is proud of its record overall and particularly in the Aguán. We have been accepted as an Engaged Member of the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, the first agribusiness in the world to be so honored. And since 2013 Dinant has prohibited its security men and women from carrying firearms at our plantations, extraction mills, and manufacturing plants - an innovative and unprecedented initiative for the region that remains popular with our guards.
We invite those seeking accurate information about the Company to visit Dinant’s palm oil plantations in the Aguán and Leán regions, as well as the rest of the operations sites, to witness firsthand the results of the extensive resources that have been invested in community engagement, modernized security, and environmental protection.
11 November 2021
CORPORATE RELATIONS AND SUSTAINABILITY DEPARTMENT
+504 22753370
