Beginning on December 3, 2011, some major international chemical companies will be facing a public tribunal dealing with their well-documented and systemic human rights abuses that have occurred all over the world.
The tribunal is not legally binding as it is not being administered by any governmental body. However, it will serve to shed light upon the egregious assault on human health and economic independence by the major chemical corporations.
The public trial will be directed by The Permanent People’s Tribunal , an organization that has held human rights tribunals in the past dealing with issues as diverse as Tibet, the Armenian Genocide, and the United States intervention in Nicaragua.
The tribunal will hear expert testimony from medical doctors, scientists, and lawyers in order to prove the charges against the chemical giants. It will also hear from the victims – farmers, consumers, and parents – who will testify as to their experiences and injuries stemming from the policies of major international corporations who have made fortunes while destroying the health and environment of billions of people.
Pesticides Action Network (PAN) International , a worldwide organization that is “dedicated to challenging the global proliferation of pesticides, defends basic rights to health and environmental quality, and works to ensure the transition to a just and viable society,” has exerted enormous effort and years of research and data collection in order to present indictments before the tribunal.
PAN UK activist Nick Mole stated
The pesticide industry is massive and incredibly powerful. It is difficult to prove corporate manslaughter even when these products are killing hundreds of people a year. We’ve spoken to people who have been abused and we are allowing them to give voice to their individual stories. We will be presenting the outcome of the Tribunal to the corporations and will be inviting their responses.
Obviously, Mole’s statement is accurate regarding the scale of corporate crimes. If anything, it is an understatement.
According to the Ecologist , the “Big 6,” – Monsanto, Bayer, Dow, Syngenta, DuPont, and BASF, - control 74 percent of the global pesticide market. Not only that, but statistics provided by the World Health Organization show that around 355,000 people are suspected to die each year from “unintentional toxic chemical poisoning,” many of them from use or exposure to agrochemicals; specifically pesticides like the ones produced and distributed by the Big Six. Yet even these numbers are likely understated due to corporate interests within the United Nations structure.
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