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DR Congo workers for Feronia made impotent by pesticides - HRW
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25 November 2019

Workers exposed to pesticides at a UK-funded company in the Democratic Republic of Congo have experienced becoming impotent, a rights group has stated.

Feronia, which dominates DR Congo's palm-oil sector, had failed to offer employees adequate protective devices, Human Rights Watch (HRW) stated.

The UK federal government's development bank, CDC, owns 38% of Feronia in DR Congo.

It stated Feronia had actually invested heavily in protective devices and all employees were needed to wear it.

Feronia, a Canadian-based firm, said it was devoted to operating to international requirements.

The firm added that it had spent $360,000 (₤ 280,000) on personal protective equipment in the last three years, which employees had actually been trained to utilize, and it had carried out a policy needing the devices to be worn in the work environment.

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Feronia and its regional subsidiary, Plantations et Huileries du Congo (PHC), utilize thousands of workers at palm oil plantations in DR Congo.

PHC has received millions of from the advancement banks of Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and the UK.

"These banks can play an essential function promoting development, but they are undermining their objective by failing to ensure the business they finance respects the rights of its employees and communities on the plantations," HRW researcher Luciana Téllez-Chávez stated.

What is HRW's evidence?

In a report entitled A Hazardous Mix of Abuses on Congo's Oil Palm Plantations, external, HRW said it had actually spoken with more than 40 employees and two-thirds of them "informed us that they had ended up being impotent considering that they began the task".

Impotence - in addition to shortness of breath, headaches, and weight loss that the employees complained about - were health issues "consistent with exposure to pesticides in general, as described in clinical literature", HRW said.

"Many [likewise] suffered from skin inflammation, itching, blisters, eye issues, or blurred vision - all symptoms that follow what scientific texts and the items' labels refer to as health repercussions of direct exposure to these pesticides," the rights group added.

Ms Téllez-Chávez said employees who had actually been talked to had permeable cotton overalls - not the waterproof overalls.

"If pesticides mistakenly spilled, the harmful liquid would likely touch their skin," she included.

What else does HRW say?

At the Yaligimba plantation, the company discarded the waste from its palm oil mill beside workers' homes.

The effluents formed a "foul-smelling stream", and ultimately streamed into a natural pond where ladies and kids shower and clean cooking utensils.

"Residents of a town of a number of hundred individuals downstream informed us the river was their only source of drinking water," Ms Téllez-Chávez stated.

If untreated and untreated, effluent-dumping might eventually also trigger fish to suffocate and die, or trigger big growths of algae that might negatively impact the health of people who entered contact with contaminated water or taken in tainted fish, HRW included.

The rights group likewise implicated Feronia of paying "extreme hardship" incomes, stating women were the lowest-paid, with some earning just $7.30 a month event fruit.
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HRW stated the advancement banks need to make sure the companies they purchase pay living earnings to their employees.

What is the UK development bank's response?

In a declaration, CDC said: "Palm Oil Mill Effluent (POME) is an organic mix of natural waste oils and fats and has actually been released into rivers because the plantation came into being in 1911 and does not threaten human health.

"A treatment plant for POME represents a multimillion dollar investment - cash that the business has actually selected rather to invest on housing, clean water provision, health care and instructional centers for workers, their families and other members of the local neighborhoods.

"It is the goal of the business to build treatment plants for POME, however is unfortunately not in a monetary position to do so currently as it continues to make heavy losses.

"In addition, the company has reconditioned or dug 72 brand-new boreholes for the provision of tidy water in the last 6 years."

What does Feronia state?

The company said working conditions had actually enhanced considerably because the involvement of the European banks in 2013.

Employees were now paid considerably more than the minimum wage for farming in DR Congo and the typical employee made $3.30 daily - greater than what a regional instructor would earn, it said.

It also confirmed that it had actually invested significantly in access to safe drinking water.

"Feronia runs on a social required with local neighborhoods. Without their support we would not be able to operate. We recognise that there is still an excellent deal to be done and are devoted to running to international requirements. We will continue to work tirelessly to attain these goals," the company included a declaration.

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