Dinant categorically reject the unfounded allegations made in the CIR Report ” In the shade of the oil palm: Oil palm report 2024″
The CIR Romero Initiative report, which was released in February 2024, presents a series of erroneous, unfounded, and unsupported assumptions against Dinant and its employees. Dinant is a law-abiding corporate citizen committed to transparency and respect for human rights. The CIRs report makes irresponsible assumptions and defamatory statements that require the following immediate clarification:- More than 97.5% of the land Dinant acquired in the Aguan Region was purchased over 20 years ago. At that time, land was customarily purchased “As Is,” and pricing was determined by various criteria.
- If the land had an existing plantation, pricing factors would include the kind of species planted and/or livestock present (i.e., corn, beans, palm oil trees, cattle, etc.).
- In the case of palm oil trees, more precise criteria according to the physiological stage of the plantation (such as the age and health of the trees).
- Existing infrastructure on the land being bought, such as fences, drainage systems, and internal roads.
- Dinant is deeply committed to respect for human rights and, in May 2014, made a policy decision to disarm all of its security guards. Dinant became the first Honduran member and the first agribusiness worldwide to awarded full membership in the prestigious Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights Initiative.
- Dinant and its owners have never been involved in any activities related to drug trafficking or any other type of illegal activity. Like many other companies in the region, Dinant has been victimized by drug traffickers who have used our property illegally and without our permission to move their contraband. We strongly condemn such actions and will report any illegal activity found on Dinant property to the appropriate authorities.
