Four decades after the catastrophic Bhopal gas leak claimed over 22,000 lives, Amnesty International has condemned the enduring neglect of victims, attributing it to entrenched environmental racism. The disaster left half a million people injured, with toxic waste and polluted water continuing to harm new generations.
Union Carbide Corporation (UCC) and its successor Dow Chemical Company have evaded accountability, despite inheriting UCC’s assets and liabilities. Amnesty criticized the 1989 settlement between UCC and the Indian government as grossly inadequate and finalized without survivor consultation. Persistent lobbying by the US government has shielded those responsible from criminal justice.
Amnesty’s report highlights systemic discrimination and human rights violations, including impacts on health, education, and access to a clean environment. Survivors, primarily from marginalized communities, remain deprived of proper reparations and medical support. Toxic waste still surrounds the abandoned plant, exemplifying Bhopal as a “sacrifice zone” of industrial negligence.
Amnesty urged shareholders to divest from Dow unless it addresses survivors’ needs and environmental clean-up. It also called on the Indian government to pursue legal remedies and ensure justice for victims.
Mark Dummett of Amnesty International stressed that corporate denial cannot erase the tragedy but prolongs survivors’ suffering. The resilient fight for justice by survivor groups serves as a powerful reminder of their courage in the face of neglect.
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