Sign in solidarity with Vincent Djiropo, a community leader of the Winnin peoples who was detained in San Pedro, Bas-Sassandra region, Ivory Coast, on December 14th 2024, for defending the forests where his community lives.
Since this letter was released for sign-ons, on December 15th, 2024, Vincent has been taken to jail and 19 more people involved in the struggle have been detained.
We urgently call on the Ivorian authorities to ensure the immediate release of Mr. Vincent Djiropo, Mr. Dominique Mensah and the 18 youths arrested after demanding the release of Vincent Djiropo.
SIGN HERE
(Read the full letter and the list signatories so far)
December 15, 2024
Mr. Ousmane Coulibaly
Regional Prefect,
Prefect of the Department of San Pedro.
Dear Prefect Coulibaly,
We are writing to you to express our concern about the detention of Mr. Vincent Djiropo. Mr. Djiropo is a highly respected community leader committed against the privatization of the Monogaga forest and in defense of the ancestral lands of his people. We hear that he has been detained since Saturday, December 14 by the police in San Pedro.
We have been informed that Mr. Djiropo's detention is due to the fact that he opposed the privatization of the Monogaga forest where the Roots Wild Foundation was granted a concession by the Ministry of Water and Forests. This forest is vital to the local communities who have lived and depended on it for more than six centuries. These communities are resisting land grabbing, which threatens their livelihoods, their culture and the forest of their ancestors.
Reports indicate that Mr. Djiropo had previously received numerous threats and intimidation because of his commitment to his people. His detention highlights serious concerns about the criminalization of land defenders in the region.
We call on you and all Ivorian authorities to immediately release Mr. Vincent Djiropo and to guarantee the security and rights of all individuals who defend their ancestral lands. His detention represents a serious violation of human rights and the right to freedom of expression.
We remain working in solidarity with communities and organizations across the region who are defending their lands, and we will continue to monitor the situation of Mr. Vincent Djiropo closely. We call on the authorities to take immediate measures to repair this injustice and to release Mr. Vincent Djiropo.
Looking forward for your response,
Respectfully,
Signatures until December 19th, 2024:
- Rettet den Regenwald, Allemagne
- Nature Cameroun
- Synaparcam, Cameroun
- RADD, Cameroun
- Struggle to Economize Future Environment (SEFE), Mundemba, Cameroun
- IFI Minitoring Group, Cameroun
- CNOP, Congo
- Amnesty International Cote d’Ivoire
- CPPH, Cote d’Ivoire
- REFEB, Cote d’Ivoire
- JVE Côte d'Ivoire
- Collectif ADIAKE, Cote d’Ivoire
- Mission des Consciences Citoyennes (Micoci), Cote d’Ivoire
- Mouvement Code 91, Cote d’Ivoire
- NoVox, Côte d'Ivoire
- Ong Actes-De-Vie, Côte d'Ivoire
- ONG Wonsminka Logoualé, Cote d’Ivoire
- REFEB, Côte d'Ivoire
- Réseau Africain des Jeunes sur les Zones Humides (RAJEZOH)
- Youth Volunteer for Environmental (YVE), Ghana
- Association Gulusenu du village Doubou, Gabon
- Association les Rassembleurs du Village Mboukou, Gabon
- Collectif des Ressortissants et Écologistes des Plateaux Bateke, Gabon
- Coopérative pikile Mossi de Bemboudie, Gabon
- Herbier Nationale, Gabon
- JVE Gabon
- Membres de la communauté du Gabon
- Musiru Divag de Fougamou Gabon
- Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
- Federasi Serikat Buruh Karya Utama, Indonesia
- Forum Buruh Lintas Perkebunan Kalimantan Tengah, Indonesia
- Konfederasi Serikat Nasional, Indonesia
- Link-AR Borneo, Indonesia
- Partai Rakyat Pekerja, Indonesia
- Transnational Palm Oil Labour Solidarity Network (TPOLS), Indonesia
- Institute of sustainable Agriculture, Grand Bassa county, Jogba clan, Libéria
- Joegba United Women Empowerment and Development Organization (JUWEDO), Libéria
- Research and Support Center for Development Alternati es - Indian Ocean (RSCDA – IO), Madagascar
- Kandili, Nigeria
- Look Green, Care Foundation, Nigeria
- RECOWA, Nigeria
- Alliance Uganda Chapter
- Witness Radio, Ouganda
- Komolo Agro Farmers Association Kiryandongo, Ouganda
- Ndagize julius, East African, Ouganda
- Confédération Paysanne du Congo - Principal Regroupement Paysan (COPACO-PRP), République démocratique du Congo
- Solidarité pour les Peuples Autochtones du Bassin du Congo (SPABC), République démocratique du Congo
- Conscience Environnementale, Sénégal
- Advocacy for Human Rights and Justice-Sierra Leone (ADHRJUST-SL), Sierra Leone
- Community Action for Human Rights and Development, Sierra Leone
- Women’s Network Against Rural Plantations Injustice (WoNARPI), Sierra Leone
- Maloa, Sierra Leone
- MVIWATA, Tanzania
- EPER (Entraide Protestante Suisse), Suisse
- ATTAC Togo, Togo
- GRAIN, International
- Mouvement Mondial pour les Forêts Tropicales (WRM), International
- DJOTAN YÉWOUÈDA, Bénin (individuel)
- Zinsou Aya, Bénin (individuel)
- ZOUNDJIHÉKPON G. Jeanne, Bénin (individuel)
- SUY KAHOFI, Côte d'Ivoire (individuel)
- Lethicia GNADA, Côte d'Ivoire (individuel)
- Totouom Bertin, Medicin, Gabon
- Yassine Bernadin NGOUMBA, Congo Brazzaville (individuel)
- Chrispine Mumba, Zambia (individuel)
- Mara Coppens, Belgique (individuel)
- Aka Jean Paul, Côte d'Ivoire (individuel)
- Comen Jules, Gabon (individuel)
- Pascale Ako, Gabon (individuel)
- TCHIKAYA Hans Teddy, Gabon (individuel)
- Célio Leocadio, Brésil (individuel)
- Oliver Pye, Allemagne (individuel)
- Moutsinga Melisa, Gabon (individuel)