Strasbourg, 20/12/2004 (Agence Europe) - During its emergency debates on Thursday, the European Parliament adopted a resolution on the 20th anniversary of the "tragedy of Bhopal, the worst industrial disaster of all time", recalling that, on the night of 2 December 1984, more than 35 tonnes of toxic gas escaped from a pesticide factory owned by the Indian company Union Carbide India Limited (a subsidiary of the American multinational Union Carbide Corporation), which led to the death of more than 7 000 people in the three days which followed; over the last twenty years, between 15 000 and 30 000 people "have succumbed to illnesses linked to exposure to the gas", and more than 100 000 people exposed to the gas still suffer from chronic illnesses which often condemn them to exclusion, even to the point of being considered to be the "living dead". Noting that, since the purchase of Union Carbide by Dow Chemicals, the new owners have refused to clean up the site or finance medical care for those affected, the Parliament asked the Commission to investigate how the Union could contribute to the "total and definitive decontamination of the site and, in the meantime, the provision of drinking water". The Parliament took advantage of the resolution to confirm that it approves the proposals tabled by the European Commission to "promote improved information on the 30 000 chemical substances used today ".
The Parliament is also insisting on an independent inquiry into the current situation in Bhopal, "possibly under the auspices of the United Nations Human Rights Commission", noting particularly that: - despite an agreement in 1989 between Union Carbide and the Indian government for 470 million dollars to cover all complaints, the sum, "after payment of lawyers' fees and alleged bribes to corrupt Indian officials, was reduced to a derisory sum of $ 300 for each victim of the catastrophe, an amount which did not even cover medical expenses "; - the Indian government " has done little to protect people from additional exposure and injury and there has still been no assessment of the damage or plan for remediation " and the state of Madhya Pradesh has also failed to comply with its duties. If a similar catastrophe is be avoided in the future, "ensuring health and safety in the workplace should be a prerequisite for all corporations investing in developing countries", says the Parliament.