the toxic truth - Greenpeace

128 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds
Chapter 11
The National Commission
of Enquiry
“ To all, we promise to accomplish our
mission in all independence and all impartiality,
without passion or hatred, with the sole aim of
bringing to light the truth. ”
On 14 September 2006 the Prime Minister
announced his decision to create a National
Commission of Enquiry (National Commission
or Commission) on the toxic waste dumping
in Abidjan. 567 The Commission was created
by decree on 15 September 2006 and its
mission was to:
» carry out an enquiry into the dumping of
toxic waste in the Abidjan district;
» identify those who may be involved in the
event; and
» determine their degree of responsibility. 568
It was not specifically mandated to make
recommendations to the Ivorian authorities.
The Commission was composed of 14 experts
drawn from Ivorian institutions, civil society,
and the legal profession. It was chaired by
a ‘Magistrat Hors Hiérarchie’ (high-ranking
judge), Fatoumata Diakite. Under the enabling
statute, all Ivorian authorities were obliged
to provide any information requested by the
members of the Commission. 569
The National Commission interviewed
78 individuals as part of its fact-finding
process. These included witnesses, victims
and a number of public officials involved in
various aspects of the dumping, including
port and customs officials, the governor of
the District of Abidjan, and the director of
the company managing the dumpsite. In
its final report, published on 21 November
2006, the National Commission made a
number of findings. These included systemic
failures by Ivorian institutions in respect of
the adequate discharge of their mandates,
and ethical and administrative failings by
individuals. As described in Chapter 8, the
National Commission found deficiencies in
relation to organization and control among
most of the Ivorian authorities concerned with
the dumping and its aftermath, and a lack of
understanding of their statutes and powers.
In its report, the National Commission further
stated that:
“ The attitude observed by the Commission
among certain actors display hints of corruption
and unrestrained pursuit of gains [with] a
570
disregard [for] human life. ”
In addition to public officials, the report made
findings in relation to private individuals and
companies, including: Salomon Ugborogbo,
the head of Compagnie Tommy, and
executives and employees of the Trafigura
Group, including from Puma, Trafigura’s
subsidiary in Côte d’Ivoire, and West African
International Business Services (WAIBS).
The establishment of the National
Commission and the publication of its
findings were important steps taken by the
Ivorian government to expose the truth in
relation to the toxic waste dumping. However,
the National Commission’s powers were
relatively limited: the statute establishing
the National Commission did not prescribe
how the government should take forward the
Commission’s findings; nor did it reference
any follow-up mechanisms that could provide
access to judicial recourse to ensure effective
sanctions and remedies. For example, the
statute did not require that public officials or
private individuals found to be accountable be
removed from public office or prosecuted. As
a result, whether or not this was done appears
to have been discretionary. As described
earlier in Chapter 8, although the Prime
Minister suspended officials named by the
National Commission from public office, the
then President reinstated the same officials
by decree, just days after the publication of
the National Commission’s report.