Mega banks MUFG, BNI, ICBC: Stop human rights abuses

Asian mega banks including BNI (Bank Negara Indonesia), MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) and ICBC (Industrial and Commercial Bank of China) are pumping billions of dollars into destructive palm oil and pulp and paper operations while turning a blind eye on what’s happening to the communities on the ground in Indonesia: Agribusiness companies like Sinar Mas getting away with illegal land grab, worker abuse and even murder.

Let's ramp up the pressure on these banks to cut off the money flow for murderous companies like Sinar Mas - unless it commits to upholding human rights and stops putting profit over people!

 

To MUFG, BNI, ICBC, and ABN AMRO:

As a lender to the Sinar Mas Group, your bank is complicit in the human rights violations that are occurring not only in a handful of plantations managed by this company, but across commodities, regions and throughout its supply chain, including third-party suppliers. The pulp & paper and palm oil arms of the Sinar Mas Group - Asia Pulp & Paper and Golden Agri-Resources - have failed to fulfill their own commitments to respect human rights, the rights of local communities and the Free, Prior and Informed Consent process.

For these reasons, we urge you to commit to upholding human rights and stop putting profit over people by demanding the following of Sinar Mas Group and its subsidiaries:

  • Immediately resolve all land conflicts associated with Sinar Mas Group’s operations, including conflicts with the communities in Lubuk Mandarsah in Jambi, Sakai Indigenous Communities in Riau, and communities in Pante Cermin village in Aceh.
  • End all forms of intimidation and criminalization against impacted communities and environmental and rights defenders.
  • Respect and support the recognition of Indigenous land rights by returning land within company concessions to the communities.
  • Ensure fair and decent working and living conditions for workers on Sinar Mas Group’s plantations.