Ha Noi (VNA) – A delegation of US lawyers on March 18 began working with the Viet Nam Association of Victims of Agent Orange /dioxin (VAVA) regarding the association’s lawsuit against US chemical companies.
Under the five-day programme, VAVA and its guests, including those from the International Association of Democratic Lawyers, will discuss judgments of the US appe a l court , plans of action for the upcoming steps at the supreme tribunal and supportive activities for the lawsuit.
VAVA representing Viet Nam ’s AO victims began its lawsuit against 37 US chemical companies in January 2004 for the fact that these companies have produced toxic chemicals for the US Army to spray in Viet Nam during the Viet Nam War.
The US lower court dismissed the petition at the hearing on March 10, 2005, saying that the defoliants that the US Army used during the war in Viet Nam were not prohibited toxic weapons.
Five months later, VAVA appealed to the higher court and joined a hearing in June 2007. However, on February 22, 2008, the US appeal court dismissed the petition, reasoning that the defoliants were used to protect the US Army, not as weapons against civilians.
A number of international organisations, including US war veterans, have raised their voices against the court’s decision and affirmed their support for the Vietnamese AO victims.
VAVA Deputy President Nguyen Trong Nhan said his association members have no choice but keep struggling for justice.
Statistics released by VAVA showed that from 1961 to 1971, the US Army sprayed 80 million litres of defoliants in Viet Nam , including nearly 400 kilos of dioxin. Around 4.8 million Vietnamese people have been exposed to dioxin, with 3 million of them suffering health problems related to the exposure.-Enditem
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