Article
Bhopal disaster: Never again?
In Bhopal, we are entering the 30th year since the disaster – but action is needed as much now as ever...[T]he impact of the leak continues to be felt today, as a hundred thousand people have been left with health problems but largely without compensation or adequate medical treatment...Many of the barriers to justice faced by the Bhopal survivors are systemic problems that require concerted action; however, avenues to justice seem to be closing rather than opening...[C]ompanies continue to publicly support human rights, but when faced with even modest demands - for example to disclose payments made to governments or publicly report on their supply chains or their impact on human rights – they fight tooth and nail to oppose them. It is overwhelmingly clear that companies will not go far enough on their own initiative – which is why the UN has such a potentially key part to play...The UN must take a much stronger lead in ensuring existing standards are implemented and strengthened...[Refers to Union Carbide (part of Dow)]