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Complaint

IDI & FIAN Germany vs. HeidelbergCement

HeidelbergCement mine & factory threaten Indigenous Samin

Date filed
9 September 2020
Keywords
Countries of harm
Current status
Filed
Sector
NCP

Allegations

On 9 September 2020, Inclusive Development International (IDI) and FIAN Germany filed a complaint against HeidelbergCement with the German NCP on behalf communities in Central Java, Indonesia. The complaint alleges that Heidelberg’s plans to build a limestone mine and cement factory on the lands of local Indigenous Samin communities would threaten their water, livelihoods, and sacred sites. Complainants cite an Indonesian geologist who asserts that at least 35,000 people from three sub-districts (Sukolilo, Kayen and Tambakromo) could lose their access to vital water resources for subsistence and agriculture due to mining the Kendeng karst area. A 2017 special impact assessment by the Indonesian Presidential Office and Ministry of Environment and Forestry confirms many of the communities’ fears. It states that mining in Kendeng would cost local families their means of subsistence through the destruction of vital supplies of water for both farming and drinking. The same report details how mining in the area would have severe impacts on the local ecosystem, including destroying the habitats of rare species of plants and animals.

Local communities reject the project and have refused to give their free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) to any mining on their territory. Concerned people in Indonesia and Germany have held public demonstrations against the project, most recently at the HeidelbergCement’s Annual General Meeting in June. Indonesian advocates have also challenged the legality of the company’s operating license in Indonesian courts.

This NCP complaint follows a complaint to the Compliance Advisor Ombudsman filed in July 2020 against a financial intermediary supporting the project, rejected on grounds that the IFC had cut its ties to HeidelbergCement’s financier Raifeissen Bank before the filing date.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

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