Hội Luật gia Dân chủ Quốc tế
OPEN LETTER TO
THE PARIS COURT OF APPEAL
The International
Association of Democratic Lawyers (IADL), a worldwideNGO of progressive law
professionals with consultative s tatus at ECOSOC in the UN, has, for many
years, been working to support the Vietnamese victims ofthe Agent Orange that
the US Army sprayed in Vietnam during the wartime. In 2004 the IADL instituted
a lawsuit in the US Courts seeking compensation for the victims. In 2009 IADL
organized an International Peoples’ Tribunal of Conscience to investigate and
determine liability of the United States Government and the Chemical Companies,
which manufactured Agent Orange to be used in Vietnam War.
The IADL is of the view
that the United States Government had engaged in an illegal war of aggression
against Vietnam and was therefore liable to the people for the results of that
war and that chemical companies were jointly liable for manufacturing chemicals,
most specifically the Agent Orange, which is known to contain high levels of
dioxin, one of the most toxic substances known to man. There are currently many
children and grandchildren of those exposed who arebeing born with Agent Orange
related birth defects and illnesses.
IADL appreciates the
tireless efforst of Ms. Tran To Nga, one of the victims of the Agent Orange, in
bringing the lawsuit to the Court against the US chemical companies that
produced and supplied Agent Orange to be used in Vietnam War. This lawsuit
brings justice to not only Ms. Nga, whose first child died of heart defects and
second child suffers from a blood diseace, but also to all victims of this
dangerous chemical substance in Vietnam and in the world. And it’s not only for
the current generation, but also for future generations and for a world of
peace and justice!
IADL is not satisfied
with the Evry Court Decision made on 10 May 2021 saying it did not have
jurisdiction to hear the case on the ground that the companies were acting “on
the orders” of the U.S. government, which was engaged in a “sovereign act”.
IADL considers this ruling untenable, because the US chemical companies were
not forced by the U.S. Government but voluntarily joined the bidding and
produced the poison, therefore they should be responsible for their production
and the court should have the jurisdiction to hear it.
IADL believes that Evry
Court did not consider the fact that the production of the toxic chemicals for
the US military in the Vietnam war was not compulsory for the chemical
companies, but they were free to participate in tenders to produce toxic
chemicals for profit. The Court also did not consider the fact that the
chemical companies had known that dioxin was a highly toxic substance, but
still intentionally changed the technical process of synthesizing the two
herbicides 2.4-D and 2.4.5-T to shorten the production time of Agent Orange to
reduce costs and increase profits while increasing the dioxin content already
present in substance 2.4.5-T.
Knowing that upon Ms.
Tran To Nga’s appeal, on May 7, 2024 the Paris Courtof Appeals will open a
hearing to decide the rightfulness of the Evry Court Decision, IADL strongly
calls the Paris Court of Appeals to reject the unreasonable decision of the
Evry Crown Court. We request that the Paris Court of Appeal review this
decision carefully and consider all relevant factorsthoroughly to issue a fair
ruling so that victims of Agent Orange can have a fair compensation for the
miserable injuries they have been suffering. This well-deserved justice is long
overdue and IADL will be side by side with the victims until they are duly
compensated.
IADL also calls for all
other outrages of international humanitarian law against innocent civilians be
stopped immediately.
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bản
dịch
Thư ngỏ gửi
Tòa án Phúc thẩm Paris
Hội Luật gia Dân chủ
Quốc tế (IADL), một tổ chức phi chính phủ toàn cầu gồm các chuyên gia luật tiến
bộ có tư cách tư vấn tại ECOSOC ở Liên Hợp Quốc, trong nhiều năm đã hoạt động
để hỗ trợ những người Việt Nam nạn nhân của chất độc da cam mà Quân đội Hoa Kỳ
rải ở Việt Nam trong thời gian chiến tranh. Năm 2004, IADL khởi kiện lên Tòa án
Hoa Kỳ để yêu cầu bồi thường cho các nạn nhân. Năm 2009 IADL đã tổ chức Tòa án
Lương tâm Nhân dân Quốc tế để điều tra và xác định trách nhiệm pháp lý của
Chính phủ Hoa Kỳ và các Công ty hóa chất sản xuất chất độc da cam sử dụng trong
chiến tranh Việt Nam.