Investigation into Uganda “land grab” must be genuinely independent and transparent

Oxfam concern that company continues to dismiss people’s allegations of abuse

Oxfam welcomes the World Bank’s¹ call that UK-based New Forests Company (NFC) must open up to a full investigation into claims of bad practice in its Uganda forestry projects.

This follows a report by Oxfam and the Uganda Land Alliance on September 22 that said more than 20,000 people had been evicted without compensation or consent to make way for NFC plantations, in breach of international guidelines. Many of these people are now living in destitution. Some claim the evictions were violent.

NFC has stated it will investigate. However, Oxfam is concerned about the nature of the investigation because NFC continues to discredit people’s allegations. It most recently described the claims as “fictitious” and “irresponsible and one-sided propaganda.”

“The company’s remarks are ill-judged and unprofessional”, said Oxfam GROW campaign coordinator Katia Maia. “NFC continues to refer to ‘peaceful and non-violent voluntary vacations’ as fact. This makes us sceptical about the investigation that it intends to set up,” she said.

Oxfam has since asked NFC to ensure that the investigation is genuinely independent, transparent and takes into account the experiences of affected communities.

“Oxfam rigorously defends its research. We spoke with hundreds of individuals from affected communities and with government authorities. We presented NFC’s position accurately in our report. NFC can’t simply dismiss our research because it disagrees with it,” Maia said.

“Many of those evicted can no longer feed their families or send their children to school. They are living in destitution. The World Bank and NFC must ensure that any investigation will be credible and meaningful.”

Oxfam says that:

• No-one was compensated for their loss of land, crops and belongings. Oxfam says that NFC operates under international guidelines designed to protect people’s right to adequate compensation. NFC cannot dodge its responsibilities and blame solely the government.
• Many evictees describe violence during the evictions, of houses burnt and crops destroyed. A recent New York Times article quoted a woman who said her son died in a fire during the evictions.
• There are still two legal suits active today that describe the evictions as violent and that outline people’s own legal claims to the land. The suits also seek compensation and damages.

NFC also claims that the International Finance Corporation (IFC, the commercial lending arm of the World Bank) and the Forestry Stewardship Council (FSC, the gold standard of forestry certification) had both passed its projects as ‘clean’. However Oxfam believes that neither organization has provided sufficient evidence to support NFC’s claims that the evictions were ‘legal, voluntary and peaceful’².

Oxfam engaged with NFC for a number of months before publishing its report. In March, April and July Oxfam made several attempts to get the company's reaction but it refused to respond. Since August, Oxfam has engaged extensively with the company's management.

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The New Forests Company and its Uganda plantations: Oxfam Case Study

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