Organizations demand an end to Socapalm's violence against communities in Cameroon

Image
cameroon

On March 25, the palm oil company Socapalm, a subsidiary of the multinational Socfin-Bolloré, carried out a violent operation with security forces against a rural community that is demanding the return of its lands, in Apouh A Ngog village, in the Litoral Region of Cameroon. In an open letter, more than 50 organizations from different countries demanded that the country's authorities investigate and stop these atrocities and find an inmidate solution in favour of the community.

 

2 April 2025

Dear Senior Divisional Officer of Sanaga Maritime,

We are honoured to come before your high authority to inform you of the following:

On March 25, 2025, the people living in Apouh A Ngog village in the Litoral Region of Cameroon witnessed a brutal and traumatising act of intimidation : heavily armed government forces, including heavily armed soldiers and gendarmes arriving to supervise the replanting of oil palms by staff of SOCAPALM, part of the multinational corporation Socfin Bolloré. These operations of oil palm replanting led to the destruction of more than 6000 banana saplings that were planted by the community in January 2025. This presence of armed forces is a stark reminder of the historical injustices faced by communities living around agroindustries in Cameroun.

The land in question has been occupied by SOCAPALM for over 60 years, with the company taking over 98% of the village lands during the colonial period. The villagers have been le  with virtually no land to grow food, cash crops, or even bury their loved ones. Despite numerous attempts to negotiate the return of land as vital living spaces around the villages with the company, the villagers have been met with intimidation, threats, arbitrary arrest and detention without trial.

The destruction of the banana plants has had a devastating impact on the women in the village, who rely on agriculture for their livelihood. The loss of their crops has destroyed a vital source of income, exacerbating poverty and hunger in the community.

Furthermore, SOCAPALM’s replanting right behind houses and over grave sites has also erased their cultural heritage and traditional way of life.

SOCAPALM has been accused of land grabbing and human rights abuses in Cameroon. The company has been operating in the country for decades, taking over large tracts of land from rural communities. The Cameroon government has been complicit in these land grabs, providing military support to the company and ignoring the rights of rural communities.

The struggle for community control of ancestral lands is a matter of justice, equality, and human rights. It is of the utmost importance that we support rural communities in their struggle for access to their ancestral lands.

We demand that the Senior Divisional Officer of Sanaga Maritime and the government
of Cameroon:

1. engage, urgently, in meaningful dialogue with the people of Apouh A Ngog to address their demands for access to the lands of their ancestors.

2. respect and restore the rights of the communities of Apouh, whose wellbeing it must ensure, and ensure that SOCAPALM stops the oil palm replanting operations on the disputed sites;

3. open an investigation on the rights violations suffered by the villagers of Apouh, on the destruction of the banana plants, and hold those responsible for this destruction accountable.

In solidarity with the people of Apouh A Ngog, particularly with the women who are defending their cause:
    1. AFERISE (Association des Femmes Riveraines de Socapalm Eseka), Cameroon
    2. AFRISE (Association des Femmes Riveraines de Socapalm Edea), Cameroon
    3. AFRISH CEA (Association des Femmes Riveraines de Sud Cam Hevea), Cameroon
    4. AFRISKI (Association des Femmes riveraines Socapalm Kienke), Cameroon
    5. AFRISO (Association des Femmes Riveraines Socapalm), Cameroon
    6. Alliance for Rural Democracy, Liberia
    7. APDDH Association Pour la Défense des Droits de l’Homme, Cameroon
    8. Association des Journalistes Camerounais pour l’Agriculture et le Développement (AJAD),
    9. Cameroon
    10. Association Gulusenu du village Doubou, Gabon
    11. Association les Rassembleurs du Village Mboukou, Gabon
    12. Association pour la Solidarité et le Développement Durable (AS2D), Cameroon
    13. Bunong Indigenous People Association (BIPA), Cambodia
    14. CNOP, Congo-Brazzaville
    15. COFERISO (Collectif des Femmes Riveraines Sosucam Mbandjock), Cameroon
    16. COLLECTIF ADIAKE. Cote d’Ivoire
    17. Collectif des Ressortissants et Écologistes des Plateaux Batéké, Gabon
    18. COPACO, DR Congo
    19. CPH, Côte d’Ivoire
    20. CPPH, Côte d’Ivoire
    21. Family Farm Defenders, USA
    22. Femme actuelle de évolution de la culture Cameroun Nkolfoulou, Cameroon
    23. FIAN Belgium, Belgium
    24. FIAN International
    25. FIAN Switzerland, Switzerland
    26. GRAIN, International
    27. INSPIRIT Creatives NGO, Germany
    28. Institute of Sustainable Agriculture, Liberia
    29. Inter Pares, Canada
    30. Joegba United Women Empowerment and Development Organization (JUWEDO), Liberia
    31. Justice ensemble, France
    32. JVE, Côte d'Ivoire
    33. JVE, Gabon
    34. Kebekatche Women Development & Resource Centre, Nigeria
    35. Komolo Agro Farmers Association Kiryandongo, Uganda
    36. Les Soulèvements de la terre, France
    37. Look Green Care Foundation, Nigeria
    38. Maloa, Sierra Leone
    39. Milieudefensie, The Netherlands
    40. Musiru Divag de Fougamou, Gabon
    41. Muyissi Environnement, Gabon
    42. Natural Resource Women Platform, Liberia
    43. Nature Cameroon, Cameroon
    44. Ndagize Julius, Uganda
    45. Ndieme Ndong, Senegal
    46. Oakland Institute, USA
    47. Parti Révolutionnaire Communistes, France
    48. Public Eye, Switzerland
    49. RADD (Réseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable), Cameroon
    50. RAJORNY (Rassemblement des jeunes originaires de Nye’été), Cameroon
    51. ReAct Transnational, France
    52. REFEB, Cote d’Ivoire
    53. Solifonds, Switzerland
    54. Struggle to Economize Future Environment (SEFE), Mundemba, Cameroon
    55. Synaparcam, Cameroon
    56. Tano Women Empowerment and Development Association (Tweda), Ghana
    57. Union Locale des Femmes de Mar Lotie Region Fatick, Commune Fimela, Senegal
    58. Union Locale des Femmes Transformatrice de Ndangane, Senegal
    59. Witness Radio, Uganda
    60. Women’s Network Against Rural Plantations Injustice (WoNARPI), Sierra Leone
    61. World Rainforest Movement (WRM), Urugay
    62. YVE, Ghana

Copy to:
· Divisional Officer of Edéa
· Governor of the Littoral
· MINDCAF
· Prime Minister's Office
· Socapalm

For further information please contact:
Struggle to Economize Future Environment (SEFE)
#5 Street, Hospital Junction, New Layout, P.O. Box 40
Mundemba Ndian Division, Southwest Region, Cameroon
E-mail: know.sefe@gmail.com