Vietnam backs AO victims seeking accountability from US chemical companies

Hang made the remarks at a press briefing in Hanoi in response to questions about legal proceedings in France, where the Court of Cassation opened a public hearing on June 16 in a lawsuit filed by Vietnamese-French victim Tran To Nga, 84, against 14 U.S. chemical companies linked to Agent Orange/dioxin.

Hang said that although the war has ended, its consequences continue to deeply affect Vietnam and its people, including the long-term impacts of Agent Orange/dioxin exposure.

She emphasized that Vietnam supports victims' right to seek accountability from chemical companies that produced and supplied the toxic defoliant used during the war.

"We strongly support victims of AO/dioxin in their efforts to hold chemical companies that supplied AO to the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam accountable for remedying the consequences they caused," she said.

The case has largely focused on whether the defendant companies can claim jurisdictional immunity on the grounds that they acted under contracts with the U.S. government.

At a press conference in France on June 11, lawyer Bertrand Repolt, a member of Nga's legal team, said that during the cassation review process, the public prosecutor at the Court of Cassation provided a legal opinion recommending overturning an August 2024 ruling by the Paris Court of Appeal.

Repolt said the central issue before the Court of Cassation is whether commercial companies that produced and supplied AO/dioxin to the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam are entitled to jurisdictional immunity.

He argued that the defendant companies are commercial entities that made and supplied AO/dioxin as part of their ordinary business operations before, during, and after the war.

Therefore, he said, the plaintiffs argue that such companies cannot be granted immunity simply because their products were later used by the U.S. military during the war.

Repolt added that the forthcoming ruling could extend beyond Nga's case, potentially affecting broader legal questions on corporate liability for products supplied to military forces.

If the Court of Cassation overturns the Paris Court of Appeal's decision, the case could be sent back to a lower court for reconsideration, potentially allowing review of the companies' alleged responsibility for the consequences of AO/dioxin.

AO is a highly toxic herbicide that caused severe environmental and health impacts in Vietnam, affecting millions of people, including Nga herself.

Estimates suggest that between 2.1 million and 4.8 million people died or suffered serious illnesses after exposure to the chemical, which was widely used by the U.S. military as a defoliant during the war, according to the Vietnam Government Portal.