TEGUCIGALPA, HONDURAS, June 1, 2017: Corporacion Dinant has succeeded in its ambitious program to train 100% of its security men and women – including staff and contractors – on the Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights, an internationally accepted benchmark designed to guide companies on maintaining the safety and security of their operations within an operating framework that encourages respect for human rights.
Company Spokesman, Roger Pineda, commented, “The Voluntary Principles on Security and Human Rights are extremely important to Dinant and supported at all levels of management. We are proud that Dinant was the first company in Honduras – and probably the first throughout the global agribusiness sector – to adopt these principles. I can now confirm that 100% of Dinant security guards have received training on human rights, as well as the company’s policy of zero tolerance for abuses such as excessive use of force, harassment, or improper searches of persons or property, and the need to treat all members of the community with dignity and respect.”
As well as training new security guards, most of whom are recruited from the local communities, Dinant undertakes regular refresher training for all guards and is developing a diagnostic quiz to assess comprehension of the program after the trainees have received their lessons.
Mr. Pineda continued, “Our goal now is to extend human rights training to Dinant’s general workforce. Combining this essential program with our decision to remove all firearms from the security guards at our plantations, extraction mills and manufacturing plants, plus the successful implementation of our regional Community Grievance Mechanisms, I truly believe that Dinant is a benchmark among Central American companies in how to operate successfully, transparently and honestly in some of the most challenging regions in the world.”
About Corporación Dinant
Dinant is a family-owned consumer products manufacturer founded in Honduras in 1960. Its products are sold across Central America and the Dominican Republic, and exported to global markets. The company directly employs 7,200 people worldwide, supports over 22,000 livelihoods, generates many millions of US dollars in exports for the Honduran economy, and contributes significantly to the economies of all regions and countries in which it operates. Dinant rigorously benchmarks its African Palm oil business against stringent international standards on economic, environmental and social impacts.
This material is distributed by Tricuro LLC on behalf of Corporación Dinant. Additional information is available at the Department of Justice, Washington, DC.
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Attachments:
A photo accompanying this announcement is available at http://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/866f30be-2e18-4ac0-9b23-9b99833ba1aa