Legal journey of Vietnamese woman in France amid AO lawsuit

The Crown Court of Evry city on the outskirts of Paris held the initial hearing on Nga’s lawsuit on January 25, with dozens of multinationals being accused of causing grievous harm to her and others by selling defoliants that contain AO/dioxin to the United States army for use during the Vietnam War.

Nga is a French-Vietnamese citizen who worked as a journalist and social activist in Vietnam. She currently suffers from type two diabetes and has a rare insulin allergy, both typical symptoms for people affected by AO. She gave birth to three children, with the eldest passing away due to heart defects at 17 months old, and her second daughter contracting a blood disease.

“I am almost 80 years old. I am the only one who can do this. If I die, everything will disappear. What I really want is that millions of victims may have hopes after this trial,” Nga said before entering the courtroom.

Nga was supported by crowds of people during the opening day of the trial. She was working alongside three lawyers, while the multinational companies were hiring 20 lawyers to defend their interests. Indeed, the hearing took place amid mounting tensions between the two sides’ lawyers.

The trial on January 25 represents just the start of a series of working sessions which will unfold over the coming days.

Born in 1942, Nga originally filed her lawsuit in May, 2014. Among the companies named in her suit are firms such as Monsanto, now under the German group Bayer, and Dow Chemical.

Nga confirmed that these companies were responsible for personal injuries that she and her children sustained, in addition to an uncountable number of other victims, as well as for the damage done to the environment. Meanwhile, the defendants argued that they could not be held responsible for use of their products by the US military during the war, insisting that instead it was the responsibility of American officials.

It is expected that Nga’s lawyers will bring charges against the chemical companies for misleading the US government about the true toxicity of AO.

Over the past six years, Nga has been summoned 19 times for various procedures and obstacles imposed by the defendant’s legal team.

The official trial was initially scheduled to take place in October 2020, but was later postponed due to the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

Through her individual effort, Nga has now received strong support from French citizens, as well as from many parts of the world, a factor which she believes will encourage her to pursue the lawsuit until the bitter end.

“I do not know the outcome of the lawsuit yet, but the French media recently said this is a historical lawsuit. I think I have come a long way. I hope today will be just the beginning of more and more support to demand justice for AO victims, not only in Vietnam, but also around the world,” Nga told local media.

Valerie Cabanes, an international law specialist, told AFP that recognition of Vietnamese civilian victims would constitute a legal precedent.

The plaintiffs’ lawyers also confirmed that Nga would make history in the event that the court finds the defendants to be guilty.

Statistics indicate that from 1961 to 1971, US military forces sprayed over 80 million litres of herbicides, of which 44 million litres were AO, containing roughly 370kg of dioxin, throughout southern Vietnam.

Consequently, approximately 4.8 million Vietnamese were exposed to the toxic chemical. Although many of the victims died, millions of their descendants live with deformities and diseases as a direct result of the impact of the deadly chemicals.

Up to this point, only military veterans from the US, Australia, and the Republic of Korea, have successfully won compensation for the after-effects of the chemical, whose toxic properties Cabanes described as "absolutely phenomenal", at around 13 times the toxicity found in herbicides for civilian use such as glyphosate.

More than 50 years have elapsed since the chemical was used in warfare in Vietnam, although the devastating consequences of the AO still linger on.