12 February
2010 - China — Industries pumping out poisonous
substances day after day into rivers that
entire communities rely on for their basic
water needs - the reality of water pollution
in China is one of the country's biggest
tragedies.
In this context even
a seemingly small step by the Government
to blacklist 20 factories in the Guangdong
province for failing to meet water discharge
standards, is of great significance. Three
of the factories on the blacklist were amongst
those found to be releasing hazardous chemicals
as part of their wastewater discharge in
our Poisoning the Pearl report last year.
In 2009, Greenpeace
collected and analysed samples of wastewater
discharges and sediments from five industrial
sites located throughout the Guangdong province
that has the Pearl River running through
it and is known as the "world's factory
floor", accounting for nearly 30 percent
of China's exports in 2007. The subsequent
results of the sampling and analysis were
released in a scientific paper in October
2009.
Warning for blacklisted
companies
Out of the five factories that we sampled,
three have been put on the government blacklist.
The true extent of this
pollution is still an unknown. A problem
further exacerbated by inadequate water
pollution regulation, allowing factories
to discharge wastewaters containing complex
cocktails of chemicals capable of causing
serious damage to China's rivers and the
life in and around them. Detailed report
on the Poisoning the Pearl.
However, being blacklisted
means greater scrutiny on these companies
and their industrial discharges which could
in the future translate to deadlines by
the government for the companies to stop
polluting the Pearl River Delta. This is
a warning to the factories and it may also
affect the company's financial status in
terms of ability to launch a stock market
listing or apply for a loan.
We welcome the decision
The government started publishing these
lists in 2006 and the important thing to
notice is that factories previously blacklisted
have improved their performance.
We welcome both the
list and the fact that three of the companies
we highlighted to the government last year
have been included.
Those three companies
are Qingyuan Top Dragon, Wing Fung P.C.
Board, and Techwise Qingyuan Circuit.
However a final note
of caution
Since China's pollution
regulations focus largely on conventional
pollutants and not toxic chemicals, Greenpeace
is urging the government to urgently rework
this legislation. The blacklisting is a
positive first step, but to seriously combat
pollution that causes cancer and sickness,
China needs to start monitoring and eliminating
hazardous chemical discharges into its rivers.
+ More
GUILTY! Japan's justice
system "breached human rights of Greenpeace
anti-whaling activists"
08 February 2010 - Tokyo,
Japan — When two of our activists were detained
after exposing major corruption in the Japanese
whaling industry - we knew the Japanese
authorities breached internationally guaranteed
human rights. Now, as these two activists
prepare to take the stand and have their
day, or more in court, the violation of
their human rights has been confirmed by
a UN working group.
Junichi Sato and Toru
Suzuki, known as the “Tokyo Two”, are due
to stand trial on February 15th - charged
for theft and trespass. But over the past
two years it has become clear that much
more is now under the legal spotlight. Corrupt
government practices, censoring public information,
Japan’s adherence to international law,
freedom of speech and the right of individual
protest together with the commercial killing
of thousands of whales are all under the
spotlight. And before the verdict has even
been rendered, a working group of the United
Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC) has
already ruled that, in the defendants' attempts
to expose a scandal in the public interest,
their human rights have been breached by
the Japanese justice system. The Working
Group’s opinion is the first of its kind
for Japan.
Take Action: Stand beside
Junichi and Toru as co-defendants and show
the Japanese government that it cannot silence
the opposition to whaling in the Southern
Ocean Whale Sanctuary.
Update: February 12th,
Nobel Peace Prize winners Archbishop Emeritus
Desmond Tutu and Betty Williams, along with
several top celebrties, have added their
support for Junichi and Toru. And our Executive
Director Kumi Naidoo has written an open
letter to Japan's Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama.
The scandal
In 2008, Junichi and Toru exposed a scandal
involving government corruption entrenched
within the tax-payer funded whaling industry.
Their findings included the embezzlement
of whale meat. The Tokyo District Prosecutor
began an investigation but then shut it
down the same day that Junichi and Toru
were arrested.
The two were held for
26 days, 23 of them without charge - often
tied to chairs while they were interrogated,
without a lawyer present. They face up to
ten years in jail for doing what any honorable
citizen should do – expose corruption. But
it is not just Junichi and Toru's liberty
that is at stake here – it is the fundamental
right to peacefully investigate and expose
corruption, to challenge authority and to
do so without fear of persecution.
Since their initial
arrest in June 2008, more than a quarter
of a million people have signed a petition
to demand justice for the Tokyo Two, and
legal experts including Supreme Court advocates
worldwide have expressed concern about the
prosecution. International human rights
and advocacy groups such as Amnesty International
have questioned the legitimacy of the prosecution.
A hugely significant
UN ruling
The UNHRC’s Working Group on Arbitrary Detention
informed the Japanese government in December
that its treatment of Junichi and Toru breached
no fewer than five articles of the Universal
Declaration of Human Rights and the International
Covenant on Civil and Political Rights.
The working group also recognised the following
facts.
?"Sato and Suzuki
acted considering that their actions were
in the greater public interest as they sought
to expose criminal embezzlement within the
taxpayer-funded whaling industry."
?"Junichi and Toru willingly cooperated
with the police and the Public Prosecutor
but that this cooperation was not acknowledged."
?"The Government did not submit any
essential information, such as details of
Junichi ans Toru's activities as environmental
activists, the investigation they carried
out, the evidence they gathered or the help
they gave to authorities to formally investigate
their allegations."
“This is the first time
anyone has been found to be arbitrarily
detained in Japan, so even before it has
officially begun this case has become a
landmark,” said Dr Naidoo. “Prime Minister
Hatoyama’s government has shown itself to
be a leader when it comes to climate change,
now it is time for it to show its commitment
to human rights and ensure this case is
remembered as a progressive turning point
for justice in Japan.”
--Open letter to Prime
Minister Hatoyama from Greenpeace International
Executive Director Dr. Kumi Naidoo
The Working Group concluded:
“The right of these two environmental activists
not to be arbitrarily deprived of their
liberty; their rights to freedom of opinion
and expression and to exercise legitimate
activities, as well as their right to engage
in peaceful activities without intimidation
or harassment has not been respected by
the Justice system.” As such, the Working
Group found that the government has contravened
articles 18,19 and 20 of the Universal Declaration
of Human Rights and articles 18 and 19 of
the International Covenant on Civil and
Political Rights. It also took the view
that Sato and Suzuki had been denied the
right to challenge their detention before
an independent and impartial tribunal in
fair proceedings, and requested that the
remainder of the trial be conducted fairly.
Junichi Sato (left),
Toru Suzuki (right), and their lead counsel,
Yuichi Kaido (centre) face reporters at
a press briefing following their first pre-trial
hearing at Aomori District Court in 2009.
Whaling on trial
Thedecision to engage in this politically
motivated prosecution was made by the previous
government in Japan. The new administration
can remedy the shame of this damning UN
opinion by ensuring that the trial will
be fair, adhering to international legal
standards. Further, it should re-examine
the original allegations made by Junichi
and Toru.
Prime Minister Hatoyama
has already shown leadership. In Copenhagen
he stood out with his support for ambitious
action on climate change. Now he has the
opportunity to be seen as a world leader
in human rights, by ensuring that corruption
is put on trial - rather than the honourable
men who exposed it.
