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- Info
IDI & FIAN Germany vs. HeidelbergCement
Case overview
Date filed |
9
September
2020
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Current status |
Filed
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Issue |
HeidelbergCement mine & factory threaten Indigenous Samin
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Summary of the case |
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.
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Developments/Outcome |
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Relevant OECD Guidelines |
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Case keywords |
Secteur minier,
Les droits de l'homme,
Environnement
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NCP Information
Complainants
Company Information
Timeline of developments
Date |
Actor |
Action |
Description |
Document |
9
September
2020
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Inclusive Development International |
file |
Complaint filed to German NCP |
download pdf
(307Kb)
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9
September
2020
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Inclusive Development International |
press release |
Complainants' press release at filing |
download pdf
(701Kb)
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