Endorsement of the Dispute Settlement Facility (DSF) Framework Principles, ToR, & Procedures and DSF Ancillary Documents

The RSPO Secretariat is pleased to announce that on 7 March 2019, the Board of Governors (BoG) endorsed the DSF Framework, Principles, ToR and Procedures (FPToR) together with the new and improved ToR for the DSF Group of Advisers. Moving forward, the mediation process of oil palm related disagreements under DSF will be regulated by the FPToR.

In light of the foregoing, stakeholders involved in a disagreement (e.g. communities and growers in a conflict) can now access the DSF system to resolve such disagreements through mediation. A mediation process is when two disputing parties in an attempt to achieve a resolution, seek the help of a third party (“mediator”). The appointed mediator is then tasked with the responsibility of facilitating negotiations between parties with an aim of reaching a mutually desired outcome. With the endorsement of the FPToR, DSF's mediation process within RSPO will now be regulated by a clear set of principles, ToR and procedures.

The RSPO Secretariat would also like to take this opportunity to announce that with the endorsement of the new ToR for the DSF Group of Advisers, the existing DSF Advisory Group is dissolved and the Secretariat is now in the process of reconstituting a new Group of Advisers. The Secretariat now aims to establish a group of people with expertise and knowledge in dispute resolution and the palm oil industry, to guide DSF in achieving its vision of promoting non adversarial resolution approaches to stakeholders. With the help of our regional colleagues, DSF hopes to establish a diverse group of Advisers representing each of the palm oil regions.

Please follow the link below to access the relevant DSF documents and to gain a better understanding of our Dispute Settlement Facility services: –

https://rspo.org/resources/dispute-settlement-facility-dsf-