DOW Chemical Company (DOW), Union Carbide Corporation and the Bhopal Communities in India
DOW and the UN Norms for Business
The UN Norms did not exist at the time of the Bhopal disaster, and one cannot expect the UCC, UCIL, the government of India or the state government of Madhya Pradesh to have been guided by them. However what happened in Bhopal can leave no doubt about the importance of the UN Norms and the need for governments and transnational corporations to acknowledge the responsibilities of business enterprises with regard to human rights.
In relation to Bhopal the application of specific articles of the Norms would have helped UCC in identifying its human rights responsibilities.
According to Article 14 of the UN Norms, transnational corporations and other business enterprises are responsible for the environmental and human health impact of their activities.
The Commentary to Article 14 states:- "Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall respect the right to a clean and healthy environment...
- Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall be responsible for the environmental and human health impact of all of their activities...
- ...on a periodic basis (preferably annually or biannually), transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall assess the impact of their activities on the environment and human health including impacts from... the generation, storage, transport and disposal of hazardous and toxic substances. Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall ensure that the burden of negative environmental consequences shall not fall on vulnerable racial, ethnic and socio-economic groups.
- Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall respect the prevention principle... and the precautionary principle...
- Upon the expiration of the useful life of their products... transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall ensure effective means of collecting or arranging for the collection of the remains...
- Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall take appropriate measures in their activities to reduce the risk of accidents and damage to the environment by adopting best management practices and technologies... and reporting of anticipated or actual releases of hazardous and toxic substances."
"Transnational corporations and other business enterprises shall provide prompt, effective and adequate reparation to those persons, entities and communities that have been adversely affected by failures to comply with these Norms through, inter alia, reparations, restitution, compensation and rehabilitation for any damage done or property taken. In connection with determining damages, in regard to criminal sanctions, and in all other respects, these Norms shall be applied by national courts and/or international tribunals, pursuant to national and international law."Article 17 calls on states to have in place the necessary legal and administrative framework to give effect to the Norms:
"States should establish and reinforce the necessary legal and administrative framework for ensuring that the Norms and other relevant national and international laws are implemented by transnational corporations and other business enterprises."
