Global coalition of NGOs calls for urgent protection of local land defenders, amid ongoing threat of repression

WASHINGTON, D.C. – The U.S. agribusiness giant Cargill has suspended its business relationship with controversial Guatemalan palm oil company Reforestadora de Palmas del Petén, S.A (REPSA). The announcement comes after years of campaigning by civil society groups in Guatemala and the U.S., calling attention to the serious breaches of environmental and human rights standards committed by REPSA in the cultivation and extraction of oil palm in the municipality of Sayaxché, in Petén, Guatemala, including connection to massive pollution of local rivers and the brutal intimidation of local land defenders.

Cargill’s announcement, made on its public grievance log on November 24, 2017, is attributed to REPSA’s failure to comply with Cargill’s sustainable palm oil policy.

“This is an important step in the struggle of the indigenous and peasant community organizations of Sayaxché Petén for defending life and nature,” said Helmer Velasquez, Director of CONGCOOP, a Guatemalan civil society network. “It particularly demonstrates the importance of the struggle waged by the Commission of the Defense of Life and Nature of Sayaxché, which has maintained its resolve in defending the community’s interests.”

“Cargill’s withdrawal sends an important signal to the palm oil industry, and sets an important precedent for environmental and social accountability. However, it brings with it real concern for ongoing repression,” said Jeff Conant, Senior International Forests Program Director for Friends of the Earth, which played a key role in pressuring the company to withdraw. “Unfortunately, land defenders continue to be under threat, and companies that have profited from activities in the region have a responsibility to prevent these threats.”

REPSA continues to operate, while social and community organizations charge that the company has not changed its production practices or addressed the consequent environmental damage, violations of the human right to food, or the labor rights abuses of workers.

Cargill gave REPSA a set of parameters to implement improved practices, and set a deadline of October 31, 2017 for the company to comply. REPSA failed to fulfill the requirements, and Cargill suspended commercial relations with REPSA. At the time of this release, Wilmar International, REPSA’s other major global customer, has not publicly announced a suspension of its business relationship. Civil society organizations have asked the company, as well as the Guatemalan authorities, to ensure that human rights and environmental defenders be ensured heightened protection in the wake of these events.

“This measure should oblige the State of Guatemala to review the manner in which operation and extraction licenses have been granted to REPSA, whose economic activity is detrimental to national and community interests in environmental justice, labor rights and food sovereignty,” added Velasquez, of CONGCOOP. “The state cannot ignore the fact that REPSA began its operations without prior consultation of the communities in the area, which makes its operation illegitimate and illegal.”

“In the wake of multinationals’ suspending palm oil sourcing from this controversial supplier, local communities may face heightened risks as they continue to demand justice,” said Gemma Tillack, Forest Policy Director with Rainforest Action Network (RAN). “Cargill, Wilmar and other companies operating in the region, and the RSPO certification body of which REPSA is a member, must do everything in their power to ensure the safety and security of land and human rights defenders––and to ensure that their rights to land, life, and liberty are fully respected.”

“REPSA’s complete disregard for the rights of local people and the environment shows the dirty nature of the palm oil industry that is undermining indigenous people’s access to land, water and food in Guatemala,” said Doug Hertzler, Senior Policy Analyst, ActionAid USA. “Cargill’s actions finally recognize the serious flaws in REPSA’s production processes. Big projects like these need the consent of local communities before they are setup and during operations.”

Background on the issue: In June 2015, REPSA was identified by community, national and international entities as being likely responsible for massive contamination of the La Pasión river (one of Guatemala’s largest rivers), which resulted in water pollution and the death of more than one hundred and fifty tons of fish, impacting over a hundred communities that depend on the river. A local community group, the Commission of the Defense of Life and Nature of Sayaxché, filed a lawsuit which was upheld by a Guatemalan court in September 2015, with a charge of “ecocide”. The court ordered REPSA to suspend operations. Immediately following the ruling, however, Commission spokesperson Rigoberto Lima Choc, an Indigenous professor and human rights defender, was killed in Sayaxché. Three other members of the group were kidnapped as well, and REPSA forced the ruling to be overturned.

An international campaign followed, as Friends of the Earth, Rainforest Action Network (RAN) and others exposed the multinational companies that bought palm oil from REPSA, several of which had previously committed to ridding their supply chains of human rights violations. In June 2016, two of REPSA’s major buyers, Cargill and Wilmar International, required REPSA to implement a ‘Policy to Prohibit Violence and Intimidation’. The policy was not enough to restore the company’s reputation, however.

A judicial investigation to establish the origins of the contamination has been stalled for two years by appeals filed by REPSA’s lawyers, which community defenders describe as malicious litigation. The investigation into the murder of Lima Choc has not advanced in the courts of justice.

The coalition of organizations working on this issue includes CONGCOOP, Friends of the Earth U.S, Rainforest Action Network, ActionAid USA, International Labor Rights Forum, SumOfUs, Mighty Earth, Environmental Investigation Agency, Due Process of Law Foundation, Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala/NISGUA and Forest Peoples Programme.

New Delhi, February 4, 2014: TLC presents to you the highly anticipated series,LINDSAY which will capture the life of the controversial actress and media sensation – Lindsay Lohan. The series will show Lindsay’s journey through recovery, following a very public event of crisis.

LINDSAYwill premiere on TLC on5^th February, and will air every Thursday and Friday at 10 PM.

Lindsayis one of the most talented young actresses of her generation, boasting of an impressive list of credits, including The Parent Trap, Mean Girls and A Prairie Home Companion. Having had her career and personal life sidelined by her public struggles, Lindsay for the very first time is strikingly candid about her life and is more determined than ever to get back on her feet.
Rahul Johri, Executive Vice President and General Manager – South Asia & South East Asia, Discovery Networks Asia-Pacific said “TLC is more than just a TV channel – it is a way of life that presents the best lifestyle experiences in its distinct style and treatment. Our new series, LINDSAY will offer an inside look into the life of Hollywood’s most talked-about star and reveal various aspects of her celebrity life.”

Each episodeof LINDSAYwill document her honest and no-holds-barred account, with an intimate and unflinching look into the life of one of the world’s most sought-after celebrities. Cameras will followLindsayasshe returns to New York, reunites with friends and family, andattempts to build a new life. Viewers will see as she works to stay on track amidst the demands and pitfallsof fame.She opens up like never before, discussing everything from her emotional recovery process to her exhausting run-in with the paparazzi.

This eight part series will give viewers an opportunity to know not only about thecelebrity LindsayLohan but also Lindsay, the person.

A small glimpse into the series:

Part One

After completing her sixth stay in rehab, Lindsay decides to move to New York to work on her sobriety and rebuild her once promising career. But will she resist temptation?

Part Two

While trying to manage her sobriety in a chaotic setting, Lindsay fights to move into her new apartment, and the producers start to question her commitment to the series.

Part Three

After finally getting the keys to her apartment, Lindsay refuses to let the cameras film, and her assistant threatens to quit. But will Oprah be able to make her see sense?

Part Four

After a visit from Oprah, Lindsay attempts to jump-start her career by doing a skit with Jimmy Fallon. Later, she performs community service at a children’s center.

Part Five

AJ, Lindsay’s sobriety coach, questions her abstinence. And later, when Lindsay returns home after a tabloid-fuelled trip, everything comes into question.

Part Six

A large crew travels to Manhattan to shoot Lindsay for the cover of Elle Indonesia’s anniversary edition. But when she fails to show up on time, the friction is palpable.

Part Seven

Lindsay appears on the brink of getting what she’s been striving for since getting out of rehab: a starring role in a Hollywood film. But will everything go according to plan?

Part Eight

After being out of rehab for nearly five months, Lindsay finally feels like she’s settling into life in New York, and she gets the chance to reflect on her journey.

About TLC

TLC is a global lifestyle and entertainment destination, presenting non-scripted and scripted programming featuring real life stories and universal themes that resonate with viewers around the world. TLC’s programming is told through the lens of larger than life characters and adaptable formats, celebrating everything from relationships and life stages, to makeover and transformation to food and travel. Launched in Asia Pacific on September 1, 2010, TLC is currently distributed to over 148 million subscribers in the region.

About Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications (Nasdaq: DISCA, DISCB, DISCK) is the world’s #1 pay-TV programmer reaching 2.5 billion cumulative subscribers in more than 220 countries and territories. Discovery is dedicated to satisfying curiosity, engaging and entertaining viewers with high-quality content on more than 200 worldwide television networks, led by Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery and Science, as well as U.S. joint venture networks OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and the Hub Network. Discovery also is a leading provider of educational products and services to schools, including an award-winning series of K-12 digital textbooks, and a digital leader with a diversified online portfolio, including Discovery Digital Networks. In Asia Pacific, eight Discovery brands reach 612 million cumulative subscribers in 37 countries and territories with programming customized in 15 languages and dialects.

Controversial artist Madame Allsorts boldly takes on fashions biggest names with satirical new “Wintour Wonderland” Christmas range, from a coke-snorting Kate Moss to Cara Delevingne, the Kardashians / Jenners and Anna Wintour a regular in the enfant terrible’s network.

The range which includes a beautiful gown, sweatshirt,pocket squares, a silk scarf and Christmas cards, takes potshots at what Allsorts regards as a tiresomely predictable and self-serving industry, brimming with cliques and cliches.

Madam Allsorts has already achieved notoriety with her “anti-fashion” couture which includes shocking prints of penis hotdogs, vagina apples and “I blagged this for my dog” slogan sweatshirts.

And it seems that the festive season and an industry for whom “white stuff” means a lot more than a light sprinkling of snow on the front garden, were too tempting a target for her to ignore.

The prints show Delevingne victoriously booting a decaying Moss and tossing a suspicious packet of powder in her direction, while ruthless “momager” Kris desperately secures Kendall a spot at a casting.

Meanwhile, sister Kim worships at the feet of fashion overlord Anna Wintour, who famously gave the reality star her first ever Vogue cover.

In a first for the artist, Allsorts makes a debut in one of her own designs, desperately trying to escape the tracks of Wintour’s sleigh while clutching a lump of coal and a copy of the Rogue magazine. Wintour has previously featured in the designer’s “Spring, Summer, Autumn, Wintour” sweatshirts, which seized headlines when they were unveiled during the New York Fashion Week on a “fash-mob” of the Editor’s lookalikes.

It’s the kind of acerbic swipe at the fashion industry that has quickly become Madame Allsorts’ trademark, and is sure to ruffle the feathers of those featured.

Madame Allsorts says: “Walking in a Wintour Wonderland is a representation of how I feel about the conformity and predictability of the mainstream fashion industry and all of its cliques.”

“It features a host of famous faces, whom i feel represent the lack of creativity within the fashion industry, namely the Kardashian / Jenner tribe famous for contributing absolutely nothing (apart from their presence and an ample bottom) to the world.”

“I added a row of saluting mannequins and a couple of coat hanger trees with Birking Bag buckets for good measure.”

The new range is available for order in time for Christmas from, www.madameallsorts.com

New York, NY, July 31, 2013 – Dedication, determination, and the desire to be the best are what drove Haitian-American Lee ‘Q’ O’Denat to become one of the hottest entrepreneurs and most influential hip-hop personalities in the country! He literally went from being homeless to being the force behind one of the most controversial, yet highly visited, websites in the world: www.WorldStarHipHop.com.

According to renowned website info company Alexa, as CEO and Founder of WorldStar Hip Hop (WSHH), ‘Q’ has pushed his website to one of the top  200 websites in the country for traffic, beating out media giants like Oprah.com, CBS.com, MTV.com, VH1.com and BET.com. Based on its level of traffic alone, WSHH is comparable to a billion-dollar brand. Not bad for a guy who dropped out of school in 9th grade! Today, this self-taught, tech-savvy music mogul stays focused on the technological trends that impact and drive today’s youth, knowing that it’s the 18-24 crowd that mostly frequent his site. This trendsetter recognizes hard work and only surrounds himself with techie geniuses; believing that if you surround yourself with losers – you become one!

WSHH has been ranked #1 on the Source magazine’s Power List and has been honored three times by BET (Black Entertainment Television) as “Best Hip Hop Online Site.” Averaging more than 70 million visits a month, this “shock site” has a global following that is unprecedented.  Referring to his site as the “CNN of the ghetto,” Q’s philosophy is Reach one – Teach one and he is quick to offer budding video directors, music producers and artists an outlet and the chance to be seen or heard on his site.

With a story that reads like a modern-day urban legend, ‘Q’ runs WSHH with a keen eye on the “hood” culture and the understanding that Hip Hop is here to stay. His website’s popularity with a worldwide urban audience has not gone unnoticed by corporate America either. Advertising mainstays such as Wal-Mart, Fiber One (a General Mills product), Equifax, high-end retailer Bloomingdales, Volkswagen and Microsoft are just a few of the multi-billion dollar companies that have chosen to promote their products on the site.

The charismatic Q started his business in 2005 selling mix tapes via mail, but found the process cumbersome. In 2007, after thoroughly reading up on the marketing and operational advantages of offering downloads online of hip-hop mix tapes, he developed his website. It grew rapidly and has expanded beyond music downloads: today, it’s home to cutting edge videos, hip-hop news and even gossip. WorldStar Publishing is the next venture for this prolific entrepreneur, who also is looking to start his own record label.

‘Q’ has advice for anyone wanting to follow their dream: “Don’t be afraid to sacrifice and take a chance. No reward comes without risk.” Adding, “Don’t be afraid even if nobody else believes in you. Do you? Keep that third eye open.”