Green Party leader Caroline Lucas MP today welcomed a court's decision to heavily fine Trafigura, the company which was this year at the centre of a major controversy in the UK concerning an alleged cover-up of a toxic waste scandal in Africa (1).
Now, in a separate case brought in the Netherlands over toxic waste dumping in Ivory Coast, an Amsterdam court has ruled that Trafigura must pay a fine of 1 million euros.
In her maiden speech to parliament this year, Caroline Lucas spoke out against the way British courts had then been used to silence criticisms in the UK of Trafigura's dumping of toxic waste in other countries. Today, the Green MP expressed her satisfaction that Trafigura was being held to account.
"Thousands were made ill and at least 15 people killed by this toxic waste"
In the latest case, the ship, the Probo Koala, chartered by Trafigura, attempted to offload caustic soda and petroleum waste in Amsterdam. Port officials refused to treat the waste, as it turned out to be far more toxic than had been assumed. The ship then sailed to the Ivory Coast, where the waste was dumped on tips in and around the city of Abidjan. Thousands fell ill, and a UN report ruled that the death of at least 15 Ivorians has been attributed to chemical poisoning by the waste.
Caroline Lucas, Green Party MP for Brighton Pavilion, commented today: "We must continue to hold companies to account when they dump toxic products in developing countries. We must deal with our own waste, not export it."
Notes
1) In October 2009, a "super-injunction" from Carter-Ruck, Trafigura's legal firm, tried to prevent the Guardian from reporting on a parliamentary question from Paul Farrelly MP. Farrelly's question was on the publication of the Minton report on the alleged dumping of toxic waste in the Ivory Coast, commissioned by Trafigura. The ban on reporting parliamentary proceedings on legal grounds appeared to call into question privileges guaranteeing free speech established under the 1688 Bill of Rights.