“Neumann Kaffee Gruppe (NKG) violates OECD-guidelines”
Evictees of expulsion in Uganda and FIAN Germany file a complaint. Cologne, 15/06/2009 - FIAN, an international organization for human rights, filed a complaint against the expulsion of 400 Ugandan small farmers at the Federal Ministry of Economics today.
The families had to give way to the German Neumann coffee plantation. “By accepting the expulsion, the Neumann Kaffee Gruppe violated unambiguously the OECD guidelines for multinational companies,” explains Gertrud Falk from FIAN Germany. FIAN and the group of evictees request the OECD’s national contact at the Federal Ministry of Economics to negotiate in this conflict that has been ongoing for eight years. So far, the company has denied any contact with the victims.
The Kaweri coffee plantation in Uganda was established on August 24, 2001, by Michael R. Neumann, the company’s boss, and Yoweri Museveni, the president of the state. Three days earlier, 2,000 inhabitants had been expelled violently by the Ugandan army, among them numerous children. Still today, they have not been compensated for the loss of their property. Peter Kayiira, speaker of the evictees, explains: “We have asked the management of the company several times to support our efforts for the compensation. Unfortunately, it was without any success. The company even tried to impede the ongoing proceedings.”
The OECD guidelines require multinational enterprises to act responsibly in the guest country, including respecting human rights. From a human rights legal standpoint, the company would have had to examine more carefully the consequences of their investment project before the contract with the Ugandan government was completed. Gertrud Falk, a representative from FIAN, explains, “Since the displacement, the majority of those affected cannot feed themselves sufficiently. The rates for the first day of school of the most prominent schools have drastically decreased since then, because the families cannot afford to pay for school anymore. This social violation of human rights needs to be accounted for.”
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