PRESS RELEASE - 14th September 2006
IPEN statement on Illegal trafficking and dumping waste
in Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire
During August 2006 an illegal shipment of toxic waste comprised
of 581 tonnes of gasoline cargo residue contaminated with
hydrogen sulphide and organochlorines was illegally dumped
in Abidjan. This shipment which originated in Estonia was
meant to have been disposed of in Amsterdam. However, the
shipment was rejected in Amsterdam by the Netherlands Authorities
to seek an alternative disposal destination because of complaints
of “noxious smells”. Following this event this
shipment of toxic waste was transported to Abidjan and illegally
dumped in several dump sites around Abidjan. What followed
is a human tragedy with over 10,000 poisoned people reporting
respiratory and digestive health effects. By Wednesday 13th
September, the toxic waste dumping has been linked to the
deaths of 6 people.
We the International POP's Elimination Network (IPEN) and
the African NGO community send our condolences and sympathies
to the people of Cote d'Ivoire. We condemn this practice of
rejecting, exporting and dumping hazardous waste in Africa
which violates international agreements[1]
and assaults human dignity.
Furthermore we, IPEN and African NGO’s recommend that:
1) Those responsible for rejecting this shipment of hazardous
waste from Estonia and Amsterdam be investigated to determine
if they are liable for contravening the principles of International
treaties and conventions relating to the movement and dumping
of chemical waste. If these parties are found to be in contravention
of these conventions we call for strict penalties to discourage
future practices of illegal dumping of hazardous waste;
2) Those parties responsible for this event in Abidjan also
be investigated to determine liability;
3) Those who are found to be responsible must be liable to
pay for a full assessment of the environment and health impact,
the cleanup and remediation, health care, and compensation
for those affected by this event.
4) We recommend a trust fund (from those responsible parties)
be established under the Basel Convention to compensate the
victims and pay for their long term rehabilitation.
5) We strongly call for inclusion of “Liability and
compensation” and "Polluter pays" in the SAICM
Global Plan of Action. These two important elements were excluded
from the Global Plan of Action and placed in Table C in the
“List of activities for which consensus was not reached
at the 3rd Preparatory meeting for SAICM”. (SAICM/ICCM.1/4)
6) The UN agencies and the EU provide assistance to monitor
the situation.
7) Any other trafficking of waste in the context international
conventions must be met with strong penalties to deter future
events.
8) We urge the African countries to properly implement the
international conventions related to chemicals and hazardous
wastes and call for holding the first Conference of the Parties
of the Bamako Convention on the ban of the Import into Africa
and the Control of Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Wastes
within Africa.
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[1] Under the Basel Convention, the Bamako
Convention, and the International Maritime Organisation Law,
this practice is banned and illegal. This tragic event also
violated the Rio Principle 14 which says that "States
should effectively cooperate to discourage or prevent the
relocation and transfer to other States of any activities
and substances that cause severe environmental degradation
or are found to be harmful to human health."
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