PARLIAMENTARY EARLY DAY MOTION
Anniversary of the Bhopal gas leak (28 November 2023)

That this House remembers 2 and 3 December 1984, when a Union Carbide factory leaked ultra-toxic chemical methyl isocyanate across sixteen square miles of the city of Bhopal, India, exposing 573,000 people to poison gases; deplores the continuing suffering in Bhopal 39 years after the world's worst industrial disaster; recognises a 2023 study of the university of San Diego that finds eight times higher rates of cancer among those in utero in 1984; notes that 200,000 people now live in areas in which persistent organic pollutants such as organochlorines, solvents and heavy metals contaminate drinking water due to thousands of tons of toxic wastes dumped around the factory being left uncleaned, despite Carbide knowing of the threats to health since the 1980’s; notes Carbide’s owner Dow Inc refuses India’s criminal jurisdiction, in violation of international law, in a manslaughter case concerning the deaths of over 23,000 people; commends the work of Indian civil society groups, the International Campaign for Justice in Bhopal, the Trades Union Congress, UNISON and Action for Bhopal in campaigning on this issue; further commends UK charity the Bhopal Medical Appeal for providing free care to Bhopal’s damaged children; and calls for justice and dignity for the victims, who have been waiting 39 years to finally receive closure.

Sponsored by:
Mr Virendra Sharma (Labour)