Open letter of civil society organisations to the Cameroonian authorities

2 April 2025  [FR]

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