Tell the White House: Stop shielding Dow Chemical from its crimes in Bhopal!
IPEN supports the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal in its efforts to petition the U.S. White House to uphold international law and stop shielding Dow Chemical from accountability for corporate crimes in Bhopal, India.
On December 3rd, 1984, in the middle of the night, thousands of people were gassed to death because of a catastrophic chemical leak at the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal, India. More than 150,000 people were left severely disabled, and 22,000 people have since died of their injuries. For these reasons the Bhopal gas disaster is widely acknowledged as the world's worst-ever industrial disaster. Find out more about the tragedy on the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal's website.
In 2001, Dow Chemical, an American corporation, purchased 100% of Union Carbide. The survivors, as well as the governments of India and Bhopal’s state Madhya Pradesh, hold that Dow Chemical acquired Union Carbide’s liabilities through the purchase. Indeed, immediately after the acquisition, Dow set aside $2.2 billion to meet Union Carbide asbestos liablilities in the USA. However, it refuses to accept Carbide’s liabilities in Bhopal – or even admit that they exist – even though there is still a pending criminal court case against Union Carbide currently in Bhopal. Union Carbide has refused to show up to court, and Dow Chemical is considered to be hiding a fugitive from justice. Dow-Carbide has gotten away with this because the U.S. government is shielding Dow-Carbide from four court notices sent by the Indian Judicial system, which - per international treaty - must be served to Dow.
Please SIGN THE PETITION demanding that the U.S. government meet its obligations under international law by immediately serving notice upon Dow to attend court in Bhopal on July 13, 2016.