Read the Initial Statement published by the UK NCP 25 September 2019: English
Read the Final Statement published by the NCP 11 January 2022: English
On 11 March 2019, three NGOs, Inclusive Development International (IDI), Equitable Cambodia (EC), and Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights (LICADHO), submitted a specific instance to the UK NCP alleging that Bonsucro, a multi-stakeholder sustainable sugar certification membership organisation, failed to conduct adequate due diligence and apply leverage to its member Mitr Phol Group – Thailand (MPG-T) with regards to alleged human rights violations in Cambodia. The submitters also alleged that Bonsucro did not have adequate human rights policy commitments and an effective grievance mechanism consistent with the OECD Guidelines.
The alleged human rights violations took place in 2008 and 2009. MPG-T was a member of Bonsucro from June 2010 to 2011, when they withdrew. They were readmitted by Bonsucro in July 2015.
On 25 September 2019, the UK NCP published its initial statement accepting the specific instance for further examination.
The parties began mediation in January 2020, however, they were unable to reach agreement so the UK NCP began a further examination of the issues.
On 11 January 2022, the UK NCP published a final statement, making a determination that Bonsucro had breached the Guidelines in relation to due diligence and leverage when readmitting MPG-T as a member, based on a lack of human rights due diligence and a failure to mitigate adverse impacts linked to business operations. The NCP found that Bonsucro had not breached the Guidelines regarding an effective grievance mechanism.
The UK NCP notes that from the time the complaint was sent to the UK NCP to now, Bonsucro has taken steps to align with the Guidelines, namely with their new grievance mechanism and with their updated code of conduct which includes reference to the OECD-FAO Guidance for Responsible Agricultural Supply Chains, and the UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights.
The UK NCP recommends that Bonsucro take steps to continually improve internal processes in order to uphold the highest levels of ongoing due diligence of its members.
The UK NCP will conduct a follow-up in January 2023.