The Vice Chairman of VAVA, Tran Xuan Thu, said on June 11 that the Tribunal of Conscience affirmed that the US government and US chemical companies must be held responsible for having launched a chemical war in Vietnam, destroying a considerable part of the natural environment and the flora of the country, exposing 4.8 million Vietnamese people to defoliants, and sickening three million of them.

The tribunal affirmed the poisonous chemical has had a negative impact on human health, making people vulnerable to diseases such as cancer, cerebral palsy, DOWN’s syndrome, miscarriage, birth defects and many other malicious diseases, Mr Thu said.

The Vietnamese victims of AO are struggling not only for their own sake but also for other victims, including war veterans from the US, Australia, New Zealand, the Republic of Korea and Canada, and all those affected by weapons of mass destruction, as well as for the sake of the future generations, said the Vice Chairman of VAVA.

The majority of Hanoi lawyers and veterans expressed their agreement with the verdict by the International People’s Tribunal of Conscience.

Vuong Trong The, one of the lawyers, criticized the verdict by the US courts that “the defoliant containing Agent Orange/Dioxin is not a toxic”, saying it is completely wrong, unfair and unpersuasive.