Public letter from over 70 groups to Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil raises concerns over deforestation, rights violations, and renewed conflict
WASHINGTON/MONROVIA/AMSTERDAM – Today, 71 civil society organizations sent a public letter to the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO) ahead of its annual meeting, calling on the palm oil industry certification body to reinstate a stop-work order against Golden Veroleum Liberia (GVL). In June, the RSPO lifted the stop-work order it had previously issued against GVL, despite the company failing to receive the Free, Prior, Informed Consent of rightsholders or restore 1,000 hectares of forest it razed. The RSPO is holding its annual Roundtable in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia from November 3-5.
“By lifting the stop-work order,” the public letter states, “the RSPO is endangering communities and rightsholders seeking redress by creating the conditions for renewed conflict, threatening forests and biodiversity, and undermining its own legitimacy by abandoning its Principles.” The letter urges the RSPO to “maintain the existing stop-work order on GVL until the company fulfills the conditions set by the RSPO and High Carbon Stock Approach, including restoring one thousand hectares of forest, renegotiating agreements with impacted communities, receiving the Free, Prior, Informed, Consent of rightsholders to operate on their land, and developing the required integrated conservation land-use plan.”
In 2018, the RSPO concluded that GVL had destroyed sacred sites and employed violence and intimidation to coerce communities into signing agreements. In 2021, the High Carbon Stock Approach (HCSA) – a separate multistakeholder initiative aimed at protecting forests – determined that GVL had destroyed 1,000 hectares of the Upper Guinea Forest, an at-risk ecosystem home to rural communities and endangered species including chimpanzees and pygmy hippos. The HCSA stated that the RSPO stop-work order should be upheld until GVL reforested 1,000 hectares, produced an integrated conservation land-use plan, and renegotiated agreements with impacted communities.
Field research finds that GVL has failed to conduct any forest restoration, has failed to develop the required integrated conservation land-use plan, and has still not received the consent of rightsholders to operate on their lands.
Globally, forests continue to fall at an unprecedented rate. Satellite analysis from Global Forest Watch shows that in 2024 the world lost a record breaking 6.4 million hectares of tropical primary forest. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO)’s 2025 Forest Resources Assessment, forest loss in Liberia accelerated over the past ten years.
GVL is controlled by Golden Agri Resources (GAR) – an RSPO member and one of Indonesia’s largest palm oil companies. GAR was a member of the HCSA but left the body after it ruled against both companies. GAR is a direct palm oil supplier to global consumer companies, including Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever. According to Forests & Finance, GAR’s largest financiers include BlackRock, BNP Paribas, Silchester International, and Vanguard.
“At the upcoming UN climate negotiations we’re hoping to see renewed commitments to protect and restore climate-critical forests,” said Jeff Conant, Senior International Forest Program Manager at Friends of the Earth U.S. “This is a crucial moment for the RSPO to choose the path of integrity by upholding the stop-work order on GVL instead of undermining its credibility by letting those forests fall. RSPO members like Nestle, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever that buy palm oil from GAR have an important role to play to ensure the body stands on its principles. If GVL continues operating without the consent of rightsholders and without restoring the forests it has destroyed, the RSPO and its member companies will be equally complicit.”
The RSPO has consistently faced allegations of providing cover to companies responsible for environmental and human rights abuses, and for failing to ensure adherence to international human rights law and environmental best practice.
“Voluntary certification schemes like the RSPO provide greenwashing cover for companies engaged in environmental and human rights abuses,” said Danielle van Oijen, International Forest Program Coordinator at Milieudefensie. “In this case, the RSPO is providing continued membership to GVL and certification for GAR, while they are responsible for deforestation, land grabbing, and violence against communities. This provides these companies with a green seal of approval and extended access to finance and clients.”
The international letter echoes concerns raised by Liberian civil society that by lifting the stop-work order the RSPO is paving the way for renewed conflict between communities and GVL.
“The Liberian Government should fulfill its obligation to protect citizens’ land rights and livelihoods and support the formalization of these rights under the Land Rights Act,” said James Otto, Campaigner at the Sustainable Development Institute. “The Government should legally enforce a moratorium on GVL’s expansion until the company restores the precious forests it razed, returns land back to communities that do not provide their consent, and draws up credible plans for responsible environmental and social practices. GVL’s operations must be aligned with Liberian and international law and best practice.”
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