the toxic truth - Greenpeace

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the toxic truth The settlement agreed between the Trafigura Group and the state of Côte d’Ivoire On 13 February 2007 the state of Côte d’Ivoire and Trafigura reached a settlement, under which Trafigura agreed to pay the state the sum of CFA95 billion (approximately US$200 million) for compensation and cleanup costs, as well as a further CFA15 billion as bail and surety for the Trafigura executives who had been charged and detained in MACA prison. 586 The settlement further stated that Trafigura would pay an additional CFA5 billion towards the cost of a household waste disposal treatment unit, once it had been built by the state. 587 The Ivorian government entered into the settlement six months after the dumping occurred – without public consultation with the victims and without a full assessment of the human rights and environmental impacts that could arise from the dumping. The settlement was entered into on a final and conclusive basis and not as a provisional arrangement pending a full assessment of the impacts of the dumping. This means that it was agreed with prejudice to bringing any future claim and as a final resolution of the matter. In the Ivorian settlement, Trafigura Beheer BV, Trafigura Ltd and Puma Energy are jointly referred to as the “Trafigura Parties” and are stated to act on behalf of their directors and employees, as well as their subsidiaries and the directors and employees of such subsidiaries. 588 Under the terms of the Ivorian Settlement, the Government of Côte d’Ivoire agreed to: » waive its right to pursue proceedings or charges in the present or in the future against the Trafigura Parties. » formally withdraw its legal action for responsibility and damages and its claim for civil injury against Trafigura. » discharge Trafigura from all measures taken against it by withdrawing all proceedings for seizure of property and, more generally, all requirements for bail or sureties against the Trafigura Parties. » provide Trafigura a guarantee that the state would take on any claim relating to the dumping, and would compensate victims. 589 Newspapers advertised the names of people affected by the toxic waste who were entitled to financial compensation following the financial settlement between Côte d’Ivoire and Trafigura. © amNesty iNterNatioNal 133 Chapter 11
134 Amnesty internAtionAl And greenpeAce netherlAnds Chapter 11 Problems with the settlement agreement Terms of the Ivorian Settlement are expansive and far reaching The term “Trafigura Parties” is broadly defined and appears to provide any individual and corporate entity linked to the Trafigura Group with immunity from any form of legal action relating to the toxic waste dumping within Côte d’Ivoire, including prosecutions for criminal actions. The clause waiving proceedings or charges against the Trafigura Group is particularly problematic in that it provides guarantees of legal impunity, despite the fact that charges against three Trafigura executives were outstanding at that time. Bail and surety was provided for these same individuals. The state agreed to take on any future claims against the Trafigura Group but without creating a mechanism for these to be brought foward. As detailed below, victims report that they were neither informed nor consulted about the agreement; this underscores a larger issue – that victims were not even aware that their rights were being waived by the government. Ambiguity in the terms of the agreement relating to compensation Under the settlement, there is a lack of clarity about how the compensation should be allocated. The agreement provided for payment of CFA95 billion (US$200 million) to cover compensation to both the state of Côte d’Ivoire and the victims, as well as clean-up costs. CFA22 billion (approximately US$44 million) was earmarked for clean up and CFA73 billion (approximately US$156 million) for compensation. However, the agreement contained no detail about the type of damage that should be compensated, nor the amounts that should be variously allocated to the state and the victims. Procedural inadequacies Failure to provide information and consult with victims The settlement with Trafigura provoked public outrage from victims about the lack of prior consultation by the state, particularly in relation to the agreement on compensation. 590 As noted above, at the time of the settlement, the state had not quantified the scope of the harm to victims nor determined the total number of people and businesses affected. In fact, the government drew up a list of victims only after the settlement had been reached. Despite the fact that the state did not have full information, under the settlement, the state waived any right to make future claims against Trafigura. Lack of payout to victims As time passed, victims of the waste dumping also became concerned about the amount of money that the state was continuing to retain from the settlement, rather than paying out to victims. The state reserved the bulk of the CFA73 billion (US$156 million) compensation money for itself, stating, in June 2007, that it would spend part of the money on “social and community projects” in a number of areas of Abidjan. The state only allocated one third of the CFA73 billion compensation money to victims. 591 Available information suggests
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the toxic truth - Greenpeace

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