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05-Apr-2005

Dodging responsibility-the dismissal of the Agent Orange case

by: Rose Anderson

Vietnam/US: On 10 March the controversial civil suit filed against US chemical companies by the Vietnamese was dismissed by Judge Jack B Weinstein of the US District Court. This suit sought reparations from such chemical giants as Dow, Monsanto, and Hercules for the environmental and humanitarian effects caused by Agent Orange. This was the defoliant used by the US military in the Vietnam jungle until 1971. More than 80 million litres were indiscriminately sprayed from US aircraft between 1962 and 1971, destroying not only the forests, but also civilian crops.

An issue of international law
The suit stated that the dioxins present in Agent Orange were responsible for health problems such as birth defects, miscarriages, and cancer, and thus the use of the chemical was a violation of international law. An issue that came up at the hearing was that of the Geneva accord dating back to 1925 that deems the use of poisonous gases a war crime. However, this accord wasn't ratified by the US Senate until 1975, and thus was inapplicable. Judge Weinstein concluded that even if the US had been a signatory during the Vietnam conflict, the use of Agent Orange wouldn't have been prohibited, as the accord only extends to gases that have toxic or asphyxiating effects on humans, and not to "herbicides designed to affect plants that may have unintended harmful side- effects on people".

Decades of civil suits
For years, the manufacturers of Agent Orange have claimed that the dioxins within the chemical were an unwanted by-product of its production, and deny any links between these dioxins and health problems. Scot Wheeler, a spokesman for Dow Chemical Company, stated "We believe the defoliant saved lives by protecting allied forces from enemy ambush and did not create adverse health affects". However, in 1984, these same companies settled the suits of American veterans of the Vietnam War-suits akin to those of the Vietnamese-in the amount of $180 million. Judge Jack B Weinstein dismissed the case by stating "There is no basis for any of the claims of plaintiffs under the domestic law of any nation or state or under any form of international law". However, many still believe that there is hope for an appeal.

Agent Orange Conference
On 11 March, 300 delegates met at the Paris Conference on Agent Orange in Vietnam, and issued a statement calling for collaboration between the international scientific community and international organisations, specifically UNESCO, to not only study the effects of Agent Orange, but to combine legal and humanitarian efforts to assist the Vietnamese people and educate the international community about this situation.

To read the court decision in full, see:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4336941.stm To read the Paris Conference statement, please see:
http://www.nnn.se/vietnam/forum.htm For information on the Britain-Vietnam Friendship Society, please see:
http://www.doc.ic.ac.uk