Amnesty International is publishing today a report, The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour Abuses behind big brand names, on the conditions in which workers, including women and children, work at oil palm plantations in North Sumatra and Central Kalimantan, Indonesia. The report outlines instances of human rights abuses, including possible violations of Indonesian labour laws and deviation from international standards, by Wilmar International and three of its suppliers. The report raises concerns with leading multinationals who buy palm oil from Indonesian plantations and calls upon consumers to demand greater transparency to ensure an end to the abuses.IHRB's Salil Tripathi spoke to Amnesty International's Seema Joshi and Meghna Abraham, who have worked on the report. Meghna Abraham heads Amnesty International's economic, social, and cultural rights team and is senior investigator on corporate crimes at the organisation. Educated in India and at Oxford, she has conducted research in Brazil, India, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Qatar, and Slovenia. She has worked at the International Service for Human Rights, the Centre on the Housing Rights and Evictions, and the World Organisation Against Torture.
IHRB's Salil Tripathi speaks with Meghna Abraham of Amnesty International on their new report "The Great Palm Oil Scandal: Labour Abuses behind big brand names" documenting the conditions in which workers work at oil palm plantations in Indonesia.