the toxic truth - Greenpeace

the toxic truth
A three-year investigation by Amnesty
International and Greenpeace has uncovered
the central reason for the tragedy that
unfolded in Abidjan: in the absence of
effective law enforcement, one company acted
to secure corporate profit without regard for
the human and environmental costs. That
company was Trafigura.
Trafigura made the toxic waste on board the
Probo Koala. Trafigura knew the waste would
be dangerous and require careful treatment
and disposal, but it refused to pay for proper
disposal when this option was offered in the
Netherlands. Trafigura knew – or should have
known – that the waste should not be shipped
out of Europe and that the company it handed
the waste over to was incapable of dealing
with it properly. Trafigura knew the waste was
to be disposed of in a city dump. And Trafigura
gave false or misleading information about
the waste to the state authorities and wasteprocessing
companies in several countries.
Although Trafigura was convicted in a Dutch
court of illegally exporting the waste from the
Netherlands, the company was given immunity
from prosecution in Côte d’Ivoire. Trafigura
claims the dumping and its aftermath were
not its fault.
The investigation undertaken by Amnesty
International and Greenpeace concludes
that Trafigura’s claim lacks credibility. The
investigation also establishes that many
governments contributed to the tragedy by
failing to uphold international human rights
and environmental law and the law of the
sea. They continue to fail to take adequate
measures to prevent such corporate crimes in
future, to redress the suffering of the victims,
or to hold the perpetrators to account.
Such failures entrench impunity for corporate
crimes. Although Côte d’Ivoire responded
quickly to the crisis, the then government
gave Trafigura sweeping legal immunity
from prosecution in exchange for a financial
settlement. The Netherlands – the country
in the best position to act to ensure that
Trafigura’s waste was dealt with properly –
failed to act lawfully and contributed to the
violation of the right to health of the people
of Abidjan. Trafigura Ltd., a company based in
the UK that directed the operations on board
the Probo Koala at several critical points, has
never been investigated or prosecuted by the
UK authorities.
Just as the Probo Koala sailed around the
seas of Europe and West Africa with its toxic
cargo, Trafigura has sailed around the law,
evading international law and exploiting
jurisdictional uncertainties.
The nightmare inflicted on the people of
Abidjan still haunts many people today. The
persistent failures – to hold the company
fully to account, to disclose information and
to ensure compensation reaches all those
who are entitled to it – mean that the toxic
waste dumping at Abidjan is not only a crime
committed back in 2006 but an ongoing
travesty of justice today.
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