- Alfred Fornah
SOCFIN EXPOSED: SERIOUS HUMAN RIGHTS VIOLATIONS IN SIERRA LEONE
A hard-hitting report details serious violations and abuses of land, civil and political rights against the People of Sah Malen Chiefdom by the French-Belgium agriculture conglomerate, SOCFIN affecting communities who lost access to and control over their land and who are still exposed to serious human rights violations and abuses. The report by International human right organization FIAN and Green Scenery highlights the social conflict raging in Sah Malen Chiefdom since 2011:
“Several issues emerge, spanning the right to land, food, water and a healthy environment, workers and women’s right, the rights of the elderly and right to education. Added to these the right to peaceful assembly and association has been violated, physical integrity and clear cases of criminalization of human rights defenders’’
The report pulls no punches exposing other allegations of corruption, lack of transparency and non-compliance of corporate social responsibility promises by SOCAFIN in their large-scale investment in palm oil in the Southern Province of Sierra Leone.
Speaking at Thursday’s launch, Mr. Edward Sam, founding member of the Sierra Leone Human Rights Commission welcomed the timely report and said it will inform on-going mediation efforts by the Office of the Vice President. Underscoring the states duty and obligation to protect the human rights of all its citizens Mr Sam explained:
“I hold the view and strongly too, that the human rights of the people of Sah Malen in particular must be protected as provided by local and international laws…We are convinced that a peaceful agreement between all parties would prove constructive in reaching settlement of the Sah Malen conflict.’’
Alphonsus Gbanie, representing Human Rights Defenders Network shone the spotlight on police and military brutality in Sah Malen and exhorted the Government to protect the people..
Joseph Rahall, Executive Director of Green Scenery, co-authors of the hard-hitting report:
“I hope that this report will guide the mediation process and Government will re-look at the issues happening still in Sah Malen Chiefdom and step up to resolve it.”
The report, launched at the SLAJ Conference Hall in Freetown attracted stakeholders and representatives from government, local and International NGOs and the media.
FIAN International is an international human rights organization campaigning for the right to adequate food for more than 30 years. Its mission is to expose violations of people’s right to food wherever they may occur. It stands up against unjust and oppressive practices that prevent people from feeding themselves. The Belgian NGO has closely followed the Sah Malen case since 2012.
SOCFIN is a multinational company controlled by a Belgian businesses man Herbert Fabri and the French group Bollore, which has developed a business empire in many parts of Africa.
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