the toxic truth - Greenpeace

“ We don’t know the facts. What needs to be
Geneviève Diallo. © Private
the toxic truth
The limiTs
of jusTice
in AbidjAn
done:
• punish those responsible: those who are
really guilty have not been punished;
• with Trafigura’s money make a medical
centre to follow up so that we know the longterm
health consequences;
• take care of those in the affected area: this
has not been done. ”
GeneviÈve Diallo
Resident of Akouédo 566
In the aftermath of the toxic waste dumping,
the Ivorian authorities took a number of legal
and other measures to uncover the truth
about what had happened and bring those
responsible to justice. The Prime Minister
established a National Commission of Enquiry
and the State Prosecutor initiated prosecutions
against a number of private actors and public
officials. Victims’ associations and the
government also attached themselves to the
prosecution as parties civiles seeking damages.
However, despite these initial steps, follow-up
action was limited. The National Commission
of Enquiry completed an investigation and
published a report, but its key findings with
respect to why the dumping happened and
who was responsible were not pursued for
reasons that remain unclear.
Although three executives of the Trafigura
Group were initially charged by the prosecutor,
these charges were ultimately dropped. In
2007 the Ivorian government entered into
a settlement agreement with the Trafigura
Group. Under this agreement, the government
received total compensation amounting to
CFA95 billion (approximately US$200 million).
This money was intended to compensate the
state and the victims, and to pay for cleanup
of the waste. However, the nature of the
settlement created obstacles to the victims’
pursuit of justice and remedy. The settlement
provided surety for bail and required that
ongoing prosecutions against Trafigura parties
be discontinued. It also limited the rights of
the victims to seek compensation.
This chapter examines the various
attempts made to uncover the truth, pursue
prosecutions and obtain legal redress for
victims in Côte d’Ivoire.
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Chapter 11