European Parliament resolution on Bhopal
Date: 2004-12-16
Institutions: European Parliament
Subjects: India, aid to disaster victims, chemical accident, chemical industry, decontamination, environmental liability, indemnification, public health, water pollution

15.9.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 226 E/361

Thursday 16 December 2004

Strongly condemns the numerous instances of sexual violence and rapes committed in the DRC by

5.
armed groups and by certain members of the military and civilian personnel of MONUC;

Calls on the Government of the DRC to implement an emergency medical programme for victims of

6.
sexual violence in the eastern part of the DRC;

Calls on the Government of the DRC, in the context of the restoration of the rule of law, to bring to

7.
justice all the individuals responsible for acts of violence;

8. Welcomes the decision by the United Nations to carry out an inquiry into the allegations of acts of
sexual violence against women and, pending the conclusions of the inquiry, calls for the persons involved to
be suspended;

9.
Calls on the Council to take all measures to support the African Union which are necessary in order
to organise, in liaison with MONUC and under a UN mandate, the disarmament of the illegal armed groups
within the territory of the DRC, particularly those emanating from the former Rwandan authorities (the
Interahamwe and ex-FAR);

Hopes that the armed forces of Member States of the European Union will participate actively in the

10.
formation of the peace-keeping forces of the African Union and of the Congolese unified national army;

Urges the Council to consider, as a matter of urgency, a new European Union mission to the DRC,
11.
along the same lines as the Artemis operation, to increase security in the east of the country, particularly
along the border between Rwanda and the DRC;

Calls for the arms embargo to be respected and for effective arrangements to be instituted to control

12.
international and national arms shipments;

13.
Calls on the United Nations Security Council to impose sanctions (travel restrictions, bans on bank-
ing services) on persons who are known to have participated in the pillaging of assets and on any person
whose actions jeopardise the peace process;

Calls for the timetable for the elections to be respected so that the people of the DRC can freely and

14.
democratically choose their leaders;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the African Union, the Governments

15.
of the DRC and Rwanda and the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

P6_TA(2004)0114

Bhopal

European Parliament resolution on Bhopal

The European Parliament,

— having regard to Rule 115(5) of its Rules of Procedure,

A. whereas 2004 is the 20th anniversary of the Bhopal tragedy, which was the worst industrial disaster in

history,

B. whereas, on the night of 2 December 1984, over 35 tons of toxic gases leaked from a pesticide plant in
Bhopal owned by the US-based multinational Union Carbide Corporation (UCC)'s Indian subsidiary,
Union Carbide India Limited (UCIL), consisting in the main of at least 24 tons of extremely poisonous
methyl isocyanate,

C 226 E/362

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.9.2005

Thursday 16 December 2004

C. whereas in the next two to three days more than 7 000 people died and many more were injured, and
whereas over the last 20 years an estimated 15 000 to 30 000 people have died from illnesses related to
gas exposure; whereas the 2003 annual report of the Madhya Pradesh Government's Bhopal Gas Tra-
gedy Relief and Rehabilitation Department revealed that, by October 2003, compensation had been
awarded in 15 248 cases of death and 554 895 cases of injury or disability,

D. whereas today more than 100 000 people affected by the gas exposure continue to suffer chronic and
debilitating illnesses for which treatment is largely ineffective, which often condemn them to a life as
social outcasts in deprivation and misery, and which have led to them being perceived as the ‘living
dead’,

E. whereas Union Carbide clearly did not apply the same standards of safety in design or operations to
Bhopal as it had in place in the USA, notably any comprehensive emergency plan or system in Bhopal
to warn local communities about leaks, despite warnings as early as 1982 of major safety concerns
regarding the Bhopal plant,

F. whereas, even today, the chemicals that Union Carbide left behind continue to poison the water supply,

causing cancer and birth defects,

G. whereas, in 1999, local groundwater and well-water testing near the site of the accident revealed mer-
cury at levels between 20 000 and 6 million times those expected; whereas chemicals causing cancer,
brain-damage and birth-defects were also found in the water; and whereas trichloroethene (a chemical
that has been shown to impair foetal development) was found at levels 50 times higher than US
Environmental Protection Agency safety limits,

H. whereas,

since the purchase of Union Carbide by Dow Chemicals

for more than
USD 10 billion, the new owners have refused to clean up the Bophal site, which continues to con-
taminate, and to fund medical care for those affected,

in 2001,

I. whereas, 20 years later, the survivors still await just compensation, adequate medical assistance and

treatment, and comprehensive economic and social rehabilitation,

J. whereas, in 1989, Union Carbide and its Indian subsidiary entered into a legal settlement with the
Government of India in the sum of USD 470 million to cover all claims, which was affirmed by the
Supreme Court of India and pursuant to which that sum was paid out in full to the Government of
India immediately after the Supreme Court decision,

K. whereas the amount of USD 470 million, after payment of lawyers' fees and alleged bribes to corrupt
Indian officials, was reduced to a derisory sum of USD 300 for each victim of the catastrophe, an
amount which did not even cover medical expenses,

L. whereas in July 2004 the Supreme Court of India ordered the Government of India to release all

additional settlement funds to the victims,

M. whereas over the years the money meant for 105 000 victims has been distributed amongst more than
five times the number of dead, injured and disabled used by the Supreme Court to calculate the settle-
ment, which has resulted in grave injustice to victims, and whereas payments of whatever little money
was finally distributed only started in 1992,

N. whereas 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,

15.9.2005

EN

Official Journal of the European Union

C 226 E/363

Thursday 16 December 2004

O. whereas, pursuant to the settlement, the Government of India assumed responsibility for providing

medical coverage to citizens of Bhopal in the event of future illnesses,

P. whereas the poor quality of the health care system has meant that most survivors have had to spend

most of their compensation money on private medical treatment,

Q. whereas despite a Supreme Court order in May 2004 to provide clean drinking water to communities
affected by the contaminated water the Government of Madhya Pradesh has not yet implemented the
order in full,

R.

acknowledging that both UCC/Dow and the Indian and Madhya Pradesh Governments failed to comply
with their respective obligations and responsibilities to prevent the gas leak and fully address its con-
sequences, as well as to prevent and stop the continuing pollution of the environment and water
through the dispersal of toxic and hazardous substances,

Expresses its sincerest sympathy to the relatives of the deceased and those still suffering from the after-

1.
effects of exposure to the gas, and calls for better compensation and treatment for the victims;

Condemns the fact that inhabitants still do not have access to anything near their daily requirements
2.
in clean water while lawyers continue debating who should shoulder responsibility for those affected by the
disaster;

3.

Calls on the Governments of India and Madhya Pradesh to

(a)

ensure the effective and prompt decontamination and clean-up of the Bhopal site,

(b) ensure regular supplies of adequate safe water for domestic use by the affected communities, in line
with the order issued by the Supreme Court, and ensure adequate and accessible health care for all
survivors,

(c)

reassess the compensation received by victims, following the 1989 settlement, and make up any short-
fall, in line with the Supreme Court's 1991 order;

4.
Deeply regrets that the 1989 settlement between Union Carbide and the Indian Government has never
had any positive impact on those exposed to the gas, or indeed paid any attention to the environmental
impact thereof;

Stresses that the overall efforts by survivors to get proper justice through both the US and Indian

5.
courts have so far been unsuccessful;

6.
Calls for an independent inquiry into the current situation in Bhopal, possibly under the auspices of
the UN Commission on Human Rights, engaging the relevant Special Rapporteurs to visit India in order to
examine the effect of UCIL/UCC activities and the Bhopal disaster on contamination of the groundwater and
the environment, and consequently on the human rights of affected communities;

7.
Supports the World Health Organization initiative launched in December 2001, through the Inter-
national Programme on Chemical Safety, for improving both national and global chemical incident pre-
paredness and response through the development of an early warning system and a programme of capacity
strengthening in Member States;

8.
Underlines that bad working conditions, the lack of any proper security systems and totally inadequate
risk assessment in the plant in Bhopal, elements which were well known to the executive management of
the plant as well to the Indian authorities, were the main causes of the disaster;

Considers that ensuring health and safety in the workplace should be a prerequisite for all corpor-

9.
ations investing in developing countries, if such a disaster is to be avoided in the future;

C 226 E/364

Official Journal of the European Union

EN

15.9.2005

Thursday 16 December 2004

Calls on the Commission to look into ways in which the European Union could assist in the com-
in ensuring the supply of

10.
prehensive and definitive decontamination of the site and,
drinking water;

in the meantime,

11. Welcomes the Commission's legislative proposals (COM(2003)0644) to make more information
available about some 30 000 chemical substances currently in use;

Instructs its President to forward this resolution to the Council, the Commission, the UN Commis-

12.
sion on Human Rights, the Governments of India and Madhya Pradesh and the Dow Chemical Company.