Introduction
Socfin in Liberia
The economic, social, and cultural rights of indigenous communities within Margibi, Bong, and Grand Bassa counties in Liberia have been violated through the establishment, expansion, and operations of natural rubber concessions: Liberia Agriculture Company (LAC) and Salala Rubber Corporation (SRC) – now subsidiaries of SOCFIN.
The establishment and expansion of the concessions have dispossessed the communities and led to the destruction of livelihood sources and traditional practices. Other effects of the expansion include human rights violations, destruction of water sources, sexual and gender-based violence, and attacks on human rights defenders.
These rights violations have been widely documented in a report by the ARD, Green Advocates, and the Natural Resource Women’s Platform, as well as in a publication by the newspaper Mongabay and in an investigation by Bloomberg. This is the story of community resistance, of those risking their lives to speak on behalf of their people, and of how they are supported by the ARD and its allies on different levels to realize their rights.
Key achievements
- Strengthening community resistance
- Filing of IFC complaint
- Legal action
- Protecting human rights defenders
1. Strengthening community resistance
It was only after over 50 years of continuous land grab of indigenous communities’ land in Margibi and Bong counties that the communities decided “enough is enough”. Members from three communities affected by SRC operations submitted a formal complaint to the office of Green Advocates, expressing their frustration over the land-grabbing action of the company and demanding support to resist the company’s illegal operation on their indigenous land. At the same time, the communities in Grand Bassa, where LAC plantation is located, were already being engaged through advocacy and legal aid support for defenders who got arrested for resisting the expansion of the company on their indigenous farm and settlement land. To learn more about the history of the LAC and SRC plantations and their human rights violations, read here.
With an intention to persistently fight back and regain their rights to the land and natural resources, local defenders within the communities established the Yeabamah National Congress for Human Rights (YNCHR) in Margibi County, and Ablojay (meaning “Our land business” in the local language) in Grand Bassa County. These local community-based organisations (CBOs) have been heavily involved with advocacy efforts to build social cohesion and solidarity among members of affected communities, in an effort to resist the threats posed by the company. The CBOs’ structures have served as collective platforms for the community voices against human rights violations in their respective communities.
The Alliance for Rural Democracy, since 2012, has been working with the affected communities to build resistance to the rights violations and seek redress for the devastating impact of the company operations on communities. Our work with the CBOs has been a beacon of hope that assures the larger community of regaining full access and control of their land. We have supported the CBOs by providing rights-based advocacy trainings, awareness on the land rights law of Liberia, Free Prior and Informed Consent, and the Right to Say No.
In order to impact women more strategically and promote their participation in leadership, women are provided an alternative for destroyed livelihood sources, given that their main source of livelihood, farming, has been restricted due to the land grab. If women are empowered through access to income-generating livelihood sources, they can become influential in their communities. The women have received support for communal farming activities and trainings on women’s rights, the Right to say no, building alliance and participating in decision-making spaces within the community. The leadership of Ablojay and the YNCHR have women specific position in the structures where women from the local communities are leading.
2. Filing of IFC complaint
In 2008, the plantation company SRC received a loan from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), part of the World Bank, in the tune of ten million dollars, to expand its operation in Liberia. The fund supported new expansions which led to further grab of communities’ land, including farm and settlement lands, destruction of sacred sites and traditional bushes, and means of livelihood, which have resulted in serious socio-economic and environmental breakdown of communities.
The communities in Margibi, where the Salala Rubber corporation subsidiary is located, filed a complaint to the IFC. In the complaint, the communities denounced the rights violations they suffered resulting from the money loaned to the plantation company. Some of the issues raised by the communities in the complaint include land grab, violation of IFC performance standard 7, destruction of cultural and sacred sites, sexual and gender-based violence and bad labor practice among other issues. The complaint resulted in the involvement of the compliance advisor ombudsman (CAO) investigating the operation of the company.
Nearly six years on, in March 2025, the CAO published its damning findings: the IFC failed to follow its own safeguards, enabling widespread harm to land rights, community health, and cultural heritage. Women suffered, with disturbing reports of sexual exploitation by SRC contractors who demanded sex in exchange for jobs or wages. But rather than take full responsibility, IFC Management responded with a weak action plan that – aside from a livelihoods fund that should provide some welcome livelihoods support to the impoverished populations of plantation-adjacent communities – leans on voluntary reforms by SRC’s former owner, Socfin, and its new buyer, Jeety.
You can read the entire process and report by CAO/IFC on their website. The ARD made the position and demands of the complainants public, which also provoked some media attention.
3. Legal Action
In 2022, the communities affected by SRC filed a legal complaint in the courts of Liberia, seeking a declaratory judgment over the indigeneity of their Kpelle tribe to Liberia and the land in particular, and legitimacy to the land wrongfully offered to the company’s concession. The objective is to declare the rights of the communities to their customary and ancestral land as against the claims made by the Government and the SOCFIN subsidiary SRC that the communities are not indigenous communities and do not have rights to the land.
The communities together petitioned the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit Court in Kakata, Margibi County in November 2022. To date, only three appearances have been held between the legal representative of the community and the government. Nonetheless, the communities are hopeful that the complaint will lead to a trial. In its most recent ruling, the court instructed that the land be surveyed to ascertain its actual size. The supporting organizations of the communities are working closely with the Liberian Land Authority to survey the community’s land and resume appearances in the court.
4. Protecting Human Rights Defenders
The communities and human right defenders are faced with constant threat to free movement, arbitrary criminalization and attacks. They have seen the worse of attacks from people associated with the company as well as security of the company and national security. There have been several recorded attacks against community members as well as criminalization charges and harassment by security guards and men working for the company and or people associated with the company.
For the most part, human rights defenders have been faced with constant threats and attacks, including arbitrary arrest, criminalization, and unwarranted searches in the homes of defenders and community members. One defender lost his child as a result of a brutal crackdown of police forces at his home, which left everyone haywire and led to his child unknowingly falling in a well. Another defender was arrested arbitrarily, beaten brutally, imprisoned and tortured with pepper spray into his eyes. The spray lasted several days in his eyes while in prison and eventually led to the destruction of his sight a few months after he was released from prison.
In 2020, several community members were attacked while carrying on a tour of communities affected by the operations of the company in SRC. Several men hired by associates of the company attacked communities and partner organization members with machetes and sticks in an effort to disrupt the tour of the community. They went further to chase after community members who were participating in the campaign. Six community members were particularly threatened and went into hiding for fear of their lives, and others who stayed were faced with constant threats of attacks and have been stereotyped as people who want to destroy the jobs of others.
Nevertheless, communities fight for their rights – and at the same time, ARD supports to decrease the risks of attack and threats. Defenders and community members have participated in training on safety, security, and protection mechanisms to easily identify security incidents, reduce vulnerability to threats and promote access to justice through legal aid and protection. This has led to a reduction in the frequency of attacks and arrests against community members and paved the way for more prepared advocacy in the community.
Learn more: If you want to learn more about the struggles of Socfin, visit the website of HEKS, a partner of the ARD, or read the documentation of Socfin’s global operations.
