On 15th May a White House petition proposed by the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal goes live and you will find it here on our website.
This photo shows Raj Gaur who is ten years old and suffers from severe cerebral palsy. Both of Raj’s parents have been exposed to contaminated water found in many of the communities surrounding the abandoned Union Carbide factory in Bhopal.
Criminal prosecution, of those whom investigators consider to be responsible for the 1984 gas disaster, resumed 24 years ago. None of the foreign accused have ever shown for trial. Union Carbide Corporation remains charged with several serious criminal offences, including ‘culpable homicide not amounting to murder’. Carbide’s owner, The Dow Chemical Company, has failed to ensure Carbide’s appearance at its trial in Bhopal and has itself chosen not to appear in court to explain its inaction, despite clear knowledge of the Chief Judicial Magistrate having issued four notices for its attendance.
The Indian government forwarded all four court summonses to the US Department of Justice which – under the terms of a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty on Criminal Matters signed between India and the USA – is required to facilitate their service to Dow. But the Department of Justice has ignored or obstructed all four. As of April 2016, the DoJ has not served any of them upon Dow.
The petition asks the White House and DoJ to do as it is legally obliged and forward the court notices to Dow. The next hearing is scheduled for 13th July. It is now long past the time that Dow Chemical should have explained itself in court.
You may wish to pre-register your details here: CLICK By signing up via this form, you’re pledging to confirm your signature on the White House petition when it goes live. We’ll add your name to the petition – all you have to do is confirm your signature when the White House emails you on May 15th!
We need 100,000 signatures: if we can achieve this, the White House is obliged to respond to the petition. Any response would be historic, constituting the first time that the US government has ever been forced to account for its 31 year role protecting Union Carbide and Dow Chemical from prosecution for Bhopal.
We now ask all of our friends and supporters to do everything they can to spread this petition online through every means available.
Official Petition Text:
“Uphold International Law! Stop Shielding Dow Chemical from Accountability for Corporate Crimes in Bhopal, India”
In 1984 a factory majority-owned by Union Carbide (UCC, a US corporation) leaked toxic gas in Bhopal, India, killing 8K-10K people instantly & maiming 500K more. India charged UCC with manslaughter but UCC refused to show for trial. Dow Chemical bought UCC in 2001 but has not made UCC available to face charges. Under a Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty, India sent 4 notices to the US Dept. of Justice to summon Dow to explain UCC’s whereabouts. The DoJ has ignored or obstructed every notice. The same DoJ made BP pay a $4.5 billion criminal fine for 11 US deaths on Deepwater Horizon. 31 years of US protection of UCC and Dow must end. We insist that the govt. meet its obligations under Treaty & international law by immediately serving notice upon Dow to attend court in Bhopal on July 13, 2016.
For further details concerning the various Bhopal-related court cases in which Dow or Union Carbide are involved, please CLICK HERE.
For further details concerning Dow’s ownership of Union Carbide, please CLICK HERE
To read about the ‘corporate veil’ in front of Dow, please CLICK HERE
