Home Complaints database Survival International on behalf of the Ayoreo people vs. Gruppo Pasubio
Complaint

Survival International on behalf of the Ayoreo people vs. Gruppo Pasubio

Gruppo Pasubio’s purchase of leather linked to illegal deforestation of Indigenous lands

Date filed
13 December 2022
Keywords
Countries of harm
Current status
Withdrawn
Sector
NCP

Allegations

On 13 December 2022, Survival International filed a complaint against Gruppo Pasubio at the Italian NCP concerning the purchasing of leather from tanneries supplied by cattle ranches occupying and illegally deforesting the land of uncontacted members of Paraguay’s Ayoreo tribe, the last uncontacted Indigenous people in South America outside the Amazon. The complainants raised the issue of  complicity by the company in illegal deforestation activities because it is buying leather in massive quantities and is seemingly doing nothing to exclude leather from animals raised in deforested areas.

Among other things, the complainant is seeking mediation from the NCP to encourage Gruppo Pasubio to:

  1. Immediately stop importing leather from the Paraguayan tanneries that are responsible for and/or involved in the deforestation of the Ayoreo tribe’s lands in the Paraguayan Gran Chaco forest. The company’s conduct contributes to and fuels the illegal deforestation and violation of the rights of the Ayoreo-Totobiegosode people, depriving them of the forest on which they depend for all their vital needs, forcing them to leave their land in search of food and care and into forced and unwanted contact with the outside world – which will inevitably lead to their death and disease, as has happened in the past.
  2. Disclose information about its due diligence policies, including whether company: (a) implements policies that exclude deforestation or require traceability of its hides and skins at farm level, in Paraguay or other countries; (b) has adopted effective systems to identify possible human rights violations within the supply chain of hides and skins originally sourced from Paraguay; (c) has taken appropriate concrete and specific measures to reduce the risks of possible human rights violations in relation to this chain; (d) has informed its suppliers that it will not purchase leather originally from illegal ranches in Paraguay if their traceability is not guaranteed; (e) took appropriate action in the event that the supplier was unable to exclude that fundamental human and environmental rights were violated in the process of breeding and processing the hides; (f) has taken the necessary steps to compensate for the damage caused; (g) shared and published in a transparent and detailed manner information on possible risks of human rights violations within the chain of suppliers of hides and skins originally from Paraguay; (h) has thoroughly investigated the effective respect of human rights and environmental rights by its suppliers of hides and skins from the Paraguayan ranches and the Grand Chaco forest; and (i) has received – and if so, the specific number – reports of non-compliant behaviour and violations of the Code of Ethics by its suppliers.
  3. Provide information and precise documentation concerning its supplier profiles, considering that no publicly available document lists the suppliers of hides originally coming from Paraguay.

Relevant OECD Guidelines

Outcome

On 6 December 2023, the Italian NCP communicated its acceptance of the complaint to the parties and offered its good offices.

On 20 December 2023, both parties withdrew from the complaint procedure on the basis that they had reached an independent agreement on the issues raised in the complaint. Gruppo Pasubio’s press release announced its “commitment to defend the ancestral territory of the Ayoreo Totobiegosode Indigenous people” and confirmed “its decision to exclude from its suppliers any leather linked to the deforestation of the [Paraguayan Gran Chaco forest]; starting today, the Pasubio Group will halt all commercial relationship with any Paraguayan supplier unable to provide appropriate guarantees regarding the absence of any relationship, direct or indirect, with the cattle ranches located within the [forest].”

Survival International “welcomed” the announcement:

“We now hope that all the other companies in this sector will follow Pasubio’s example, taking full responsibility for the impact of their supply chain on the rights of Indigenous peoples, and halting any activity that could put at risk the lives and lands of uncontacted tribes, and Indigenous peoples around the world.”

The complaint was formally concluded on 15 February 2024.

More details

Defendant
Company in violation
Complainants
Affected people
Date rejected / concluded
14 February 2024

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