국제앰네스티는 폐기물이라는 사실을 숨기고 이를 코트디부아르(Cote D’Ivoire)에 무단 투기한 다국적 회사인 트라피구라(Tranfigura)사에 유죄를 선고한 네덜란드 법원의 판결을 환영했다.코트디부아르 사건과 관련해 트라피구라 사에 형사적 책임을 지게 한 판결은 23일 내려진 이번 판결이 처음이다. 코트디부아르를 방문해 무단 투기 피해자들과 만났던 국제앰네스티 베네데타 레이시(Benedetta Lacey) 특별 자문은 “트라피구라 사가 지금까지 투기 행위를 부인해 왔었던 것만큼 이번 판결은 유죄를 강력히 시사한다”며 “무단 투기는 코트디부아르 내 수 천명의 삶에 큰 악영향을 미쳤다”고 말했다. 이어서 레이시 특별 자문은 “이번 판결로 큰 도약이 있었으나, 피해자들에게는 이것이 끝이 아니다”며 “무단 투기된 폐기물이 주민들의 건강에 어떠한 영향을 끼쳤는지, 오염된 지역의 오염 물질을 어떻게 제거할지에 대해 아직 의문의 여지가 많다”고 말했다. |
Trafigura found guilty in toxic waste dumping tragedy
23 July 2010
Amnesty International today welcomed the guilty verdict by a Dutch court against the multinational company, Trafigura, for delivering hazardous waste to Amsterdam while concealing the true nature of the waste, and for exporting the waste to Cote D’Ivoire. Today’s verdict is the first time the company has been held criminally accountable for its involvement in exporting the hazardous waste to Cote d’Ivoire. “This judgement appears damning given Trafigura’s previous denials of any wrongdoing. The waste, which was ultimately dumped in Cote d’Ivoire, had a huge impact on the lives of tens of thousands of people,” said Benedetta Lacey, a special advisor at Amnesty International who has visited Côte d’Ivoire and met victims of the dumping.
“While the ruling is a significant step forward, this is not the end of the story for those affected. There are unanswered questions about the impact that the waste may have had on people’s health, and the areas where the waste was dumped are yet to be fully decontaminated.”
The verdict also appears to raise serious questions about the failures of the Dutch authorities, who could have prevented the tragedy by stopping the waste from leaving Dutch borders. These questions have not been resolved. Amnesty International is assessing the full text of the final verdict.
In July 2006, Trafigura off-loaded waste from a ship in Amsterdam for disposal, but for cost reasons reloaded and transported the waste to Cote d’Ivoire.
The waste was then dumped in August 2006 in various locations around the city of Abidjan. Following the dumping, more than 100,000 people sought medical attention for a range of health problems and there were 15 reported deaths.
The Dutch prosecution focussed on events in the Netherlands. It does not appear to consider the impact of the dumping in Cote D’Ivoire, reflecting the challenges of prosecuting companies for actions that cross borders.
“There is an urgent need for the international community to learn the lessons from this incident. States must do more to ensure that multinationals respect human rights both at home and abroad.” said Benedetta Lacey.
