Mr. Kofi Annan Secretary General United Nations New York, New York United States
27 August 2002
Dear Secretary General,
Greetings from the village of Tauccamarca, Peru, on the occasion of the World Summit for Sustainable Development.
I represent the families of the twenty-four children in our village who were poisoned and killed on October 22, 1999, after they ate a school breakfast of powdered milk substitute that had been contaminated with methyl parathion, a pesticide made by the company Bayer. Eighteen more children were also poisoned but survived. The early medical tests have shown that several of these children will suffer significant long-term health and developmental consequences.
I have been told that the United Nations sponsors a program called the UN Global Compact, and that corporations including Bayer are members of this partnership because they adhere to the Compact's principles on human rights and the environment. But the grieving parents in my village cannot understand how the United Nations could support a company like Bayer that has continued to sell its most toxic pesticides (classified by the WHO as extremely or highly hazardous) for many years after publicly promising to withdraw them in 1995. Nor can we understand why the United Nations would support a company that allowed methyl parathion to be sold in a region where they knew that the people would not be able to read the label instructions and would therefore be defenseless in the face of deadly poisons like methyl parathion.
Our village is located high in the Andean mountains, over three hours by car from the nearest city. Until last year there was no road that connected us to the nearest village that has a health post. When the children were poisoned, they began to writhe in agony. We tried to carry them down the mountain to get medical help, but they did not survive long enough.
In the intervening years, our families have tried to understand why such dangerous pesticides like methyl parathion (also known by its trade name Folidol) are sold in our region. It is well known that the majority of people in the Peruvian Andes speak only Quechua and that many cannot read or write. It seems to us that the company and the government should have known that people were unable to read and follow instructions and precautions on the label.
We have appealed to the new head of our government, President Toledo, and to the Peruvian Congress, asking them to determine who was responsible for the deaths of our children, and who will help their families and ensure good medical care for the surviving children. Although we know very little about the legal processes in our country, with the help of environmental and human rights non-governmental organizations we also filed a lawsuit against Bayer last year.
In response to our appeal, the Peruvian Congress formed a special Investigating Commission, and early this year held hearings to better understand how the children died and to determine who was responsible. The results of their work have just recently been presented to the public. The Commission found the company Bayer civilly responsible for the death of the children, and also found evidence of criminal responsibility.
Honorable Mr. Anan: Although we seek justice for our children, our most important goal and desire is to prevent future tragedies like the poisonings of our children in Tauccamarca. In respect for our children and children everywhere we appeal to you today to take action on behalf of the United Nations to ask companies like Bayer to withdraw their most toxic pesticides from the market. We also ask you to withdraw the support of the UN Global Compact from Bayer and all other chemical companies that continue to sell these deadly products in regions of the world where they can never be used safely.
Thank you for your attention, Honorable Mr. Anan, and we sincerely wish you and your colleagues a successful Summit at this critical time for all people on earth and for the earth itself.
With fraternal greetings,
Victoriano Huarayo Torres
Representing the Village of Tauccamarca, Peru August 25, 2002
Note: Two of Mr. Huarayo's children were among the twenty-four fatally poisoned.
Luis Gomero - Red de Acción en Alternativas al uso de Agroquímicos (RAAA). Lima, Peru. Telefax (511) 3375170 / 4257955, Email: raaaper@terra.com.pe
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