GLOBAL CAMPAIGN TO BAN ASBESTOS 2011
Laurie Kazan-Allen
Presented at Asian Ban Asbestos Annual Meeting
Jaipur, India, November 15, 2011
“It is my aspiration that health will finally be seen not as a blessing to be wished for, but
as a human right to be fought for,” wrote Former United Nations Secretary General Kofi
Annan. For more than 20 years international campaigners have been battling to obtainjustice for asbestos victims and ban the use of asbestos. Whereas once upon a time ouractivities took place at the outer fringes of society, today our concerns are part of national
dialogues on human rights, environmental justice, corporate accountability andsustainable development. Our efforts have helped visualize the silent epidemic that isspreading from industrialized to developing countries; a cataclysmic disaster caused by
the ruthless profiteering of asbestos stakeholders.
Since we met a year ago in Indonesia, our network has been proactive in challenging
asbestos lobbyists in major producing and consuming nations. We have engaged inoutreach work to identify the injured, mounted legal challenges in new jurisdictions,confronted industry propagandists in asbestos heartlands and pioneered initiatives to raise
public and professional awarenesss of the asbestos hazard. That the diverse and fullagenda of activities undertaken has been conducted by grassroots activists with few
financial resources is testament to their ingenuity, ability and committment.
December 2010 – Canada
For decades, the Canadian asbestos lobby has orchestrated a worldwide campaign topromote asbestos sales, discredit opponents and prevent restrictions on asbestos sales.
Even as Canadian politicans claim the high ground for their supposedly “greencredentials,” they have pledged a $58 million loan guarantee to develop new asbestos
mining resources in Quebec. The ABAN Mission to Canada December 2010 and theaccompanying demonstrations in eight cities around the world marked a watershed in the
global campaign to ban asbestos. For the first time, representatives of asbestos consuming
countries confronted asbestos stakeholders on their home ground.
Janaury 2011 – Brazil
Traditionally, one of the key arguments of asbestos vested interests has been that shutting
down asbestos industries will devestate national economies. A paper entitled: The
Economic Impact of the Banning of the Use of Asbestos in Brazil exploded the financial
justification for continuing asbestos exploitation in Brazil. The researchers concluded thatthe negative effect of banning asbestos “will be felt only in the sphere of asbestos
extraction (which in 2007 employed 156 workers in mining and 210 in primaryprocessing.) The problems here can be dealt with through policies of support to theaffected region (tourism, for example, can become a promising alternative for Minaçu).”1

Neither the Brazilian economy nor Brazilian citizens need asbestos. Since that paper waspublished a fifth Brazilian state – Mato Grosso – has banned asbestos.
February 2011 – the Balkans
It is often overlooked that two of the world’s biggest asbestos producers are in Europe.
The continued exploitation of commercial and political ties amongst East European
countries ensures that asbestos is still widely used in the Balkans. News of a research
project in Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina was released in February whichdocumented attempts by civil society to address national asbestos legacies, raiseawareness of the asbestos hazard and build capacity amongst professionals and membersof the public with the ultimate aim of banning asbestos. A 23 second clip was broadcast
on blip TV as part of the NoforAsbestos Campaign; 1 one week earlier two programs
detailing the asbestos hazards in the Balkans had been broadcast as part of a joint
European Union-West Balkan initiative called the KAPAZ Project which spearheaded
research and discussions on asbestos in Macedonia, Serbia and Bosnia-Herzegovina,
mounted a regional meeting, generated public awareness literature and broadcast materialand established a web presence.
March 2011 – India
Events in India evidenced the fruitful collaboration of civil society partners including
grassroots activists, academics and medical professionals. The visit of Professor Annie
Thebaud-Mony was a catalyst for a series of events and meetings organized by theOccupational Health and Safety Centre and the People’s Training Research Centre in
Mumbai and Ahmedabad during which the daily reality of India’s asbestos victims wasdiscussed and plans for initiatives to quantify the human impact of asbestos consumption
in India were progressed.
April 2011 – Italy
To mark International Workers Memorial Day a series of event was held in Casale
Monferrato, a town decimated by decades of asbestos-cement production. At aconference entitled A World Without Asbestos and in satellite events held in the following
days, attention was focused on the ongoing trial in Turin of former Eternit executives
who are facing charges for their role in creating the epidemic which has taken thousandsof lives in Casale and surrounding towns.
May 2011 – Kyrgyzstan
As recently as 2008, annual asbestos consumption in Kyrgyzstan was 20,862 tonnes;
although usage fell to 6,813 tonnes in 2010 the Kyrgyzstan Government’s pro-asbestos
policy remains a reflection of Russia’s. It was therefore highly significant that in May, aninternational conference Asbestos – Policies and Practices in Kyrgyzstan andInternational Chemicals Policy was held in Bishkek, the capital of Kyrgyzstan. Despite
1Video clip http://blip.tv/noforasbestos/no-for-asbestos-4678668

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disruptions by members of the asbestos lobbying group, the International Alliance ofChrysotile Trade Unions, informative presentations describing the disastrous
consequences of asbestos exposure were given by eminent experts.
June 2011 – Switzerland
Canadian asbestos stakeholders continued to block efforts to impose a modicum ofcontrol on the global asbestos trade during this year's meeting of the Rotterdam
Convention. After objections to regulating chrysotile exports by four countries had been
resolved, Canada continued its opposition to UN proposals to protect public andoccupational health. The Canadian delegate would not explain or discuss Canada's vetosaying only:“Canada is not in a position to support the listing of chrysotile in Annex 3. Canada isunable to join the consensus.”
July 2011 – Indonesia
After months of preparation, the Asbestos Danger Media Competition was held in West
Java. 25 groups of participants from 15 local schools in Bandung Raya took part in theactivities. The contest was organized by Ina-Ban and the Indonesian Red Cross-WestBandung. Less than two months later, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of aWest Java district announced it was banning future asbestos industrialization; permits
needed for the construction and operation of asbestos manufacturing facilities would, theEPA said, no longer be granted in Purwakarta Regency due to concern about the "dangersof the use of asbestos in everyday life" and the hazard presented by the disposal ofasbestos waste.
August 2011 – Bangladesh
The report Asbestos Time Bomb in Bangladesh was launched in Dhaka at a “National
Consultation Meeting on Asbestos." The research undertaken by the Bangladesh
Occupational Health, Safety and Environmental Foundation for this publication
highlights the urgent need for civil society to take concerted action to address theasbestos threat to public and occupational health.
September 2011 – Korea
Extensive asbestos contamination of Korean baseball stadiums was revealed by The
Asian Citizen's Center for Environment and Health which had done environmental
sampling at 5 baseball parks. This situation was front page news both in and outside ofKorea as it highlighted the risk posed not only to baseball players and coaches but also toumpires, stadium staff and fans who visited polluted venues.
October 2011 – Belgium

3Eleven years after her death from mesothelioma, the family of Françoise Jonckheere
witnessed the beginning of a landmark trial in Brussels when the case against Eternit, oneof the world's biggest asbestos conglomerates, began. This is the first civil case brought
on behalf of a Belgian who, as a result of environmental exposure to asbestos, contracted
an asbestos-related disease. A google search last week for the name of Françoise
Jonckheere produced nearly 100 articles in French, Flemish and Portuguese. The torrentof media coverage which accompanied this trial is a clear indication that the years ofmedia censorship of the asbestos debate in Belgium are long over.
November 2011 – Australia
A program shown on the Australian Broadcasting Corporation entitled India: Toxic
Trade on November 8 confirmed the asbestos catastrophe unfolding throughout India.
The inclusion of footage documenting the environmental asbestos disaster in the small
Rajasthan village of Roro substantiated the public health threat posed by asbestos. 2 Thetiming of this broadcast shortly before the ABAN meeting took place in Jaipur(Rajasthan) is a fitting reminder of the multiple facets of the challenge facing India posedby the continuing exploitation of chrysotile asbestos.
IBAS Activities 2010-2013
The roundup of asbestos developments for 2010-11 is evidence of the incredible work
being undertaken by grassroots campaigners all over the world who are pursuingpolitical, legal, educational, judicial, legislative and medical pathways to expose national
asbestos scandals and generate suppoort for victims. This year has been an incredibly
productive one and I would urge people interested in more detail about developments toconsult the website of the International Ban Asbestos Secretariat (IBAS), the “go-to” site
for english language news about civil society's fightback against asbestos.
IBAS not only reports asbestos news but takes an active part in collaborating with groups
active in the global ban asbestos campaign. In 2010-2011 IBAS supported pioneering
outreach projects, medical initiatives and asbestos campaigns in: Bangladesh, Belgium,Brazil, Canada, India [Maharashtra, Rajasthan and Gujarat], Indonesia, Eastern Europe,
the Philippines and the UK. IBAS research this year has exposed asbestos scandals in:
Canada, Italy, Mexico, Russia and the US. IBAS collaboration with documentary
filmmakers and journalists has facilitated media projects spotlighting the asbestos hazard
in: Australia, Canada, India, Italy, Denmark, and Sweden. Throughout the year, IBAS has
worked closely with members of the ABAN network. We are pleased to once again be amajor donor to the ABAN annual meeting and have great hopes that the sessions inJaipur will be both informative as well as productive.
As for the future, IBAS is progressing plans with international agencies, global laborfederations and victims groups for asbestos meetings and projects in Europe, Latin
America and Asia in 2012-2013. High-profile events being discussed will reinforce work
being done on regional and national levels such as the development of national asbestos2

http://www.abc.net.au/foreign/4

programs but also address the needs of asbestos victims and support the efforts ofgrassroots activists. In countries where government policies continue to block progress,
work will continue with our social partners. Ideas under consideration vary in size, scopeand region but taken together they constitute a formidable and ambitious agenda. In lightof current difficulties shared by global economies, it may seem a strange time to begin
work on such complex and costly undertakings. Gandhi said:“You may never know what results come from your action. But if
you do nothing, there will be no result."
In life, there are, as we know, no guarantees but we at IBAS will continue, as always, towork towards our goals of justice for all asbestos victims and a global ban on asbestos.

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