Rainbow Warrior to target Corporate Criminals; Greenpeace demands an International Instrument on Corporate Accountability.

Mumbai 7th November 2003 : Greenpeace today launched Rainbow Warrior's Corporate Accountability Tour of India, and announced their intention to intensify campaigns against corporations that flout national and international
legislations to commit crimes against humanity and the planet.

Addressing a media conference on board the Rainbow Warrior in Mumbai today, G. Ananthapadmanabhan, Executive Director, Greenpeace India said, "Corporations benefit from a global market but are not held globally accountable for their
activities; multinational parents are never held liable for the corporate crimes of their local entity. Corporations have a long history of practicing double standards, influencing governance, avoiding responsibility or liabilities for remediation of environmental damage and compensation of the victims affected by their operations. This has to change. The survivors of
Bhopal, the people of Kodaikanal, the workers in our ship-breaking yards, the communities that live around our industrial estates; indeed entire populations whose water, food and bodies are burdened with toxic chemicals, demand an
international instrument on Corporate Accountability."

On the first leg of the tour, Rainbow Warrior will sail for Alang next week, one of the world's largest ship-breaking yards to undertake toxic patrolling of the seas to identify and expose European and OECD ship-owners.

"Ship-owners and shipping companies make huge profits from ships but do not invest a single penny in ensuring clean recycling of ships. Instead they export their toxic legacy and liabilities to ship breakers and ship breaking countries. The rejection of the US MARAD ships destined for scrapping to UK, the seizure of a French aircraft carrier destined for scrapping in Turkey and the Indian Supreme Court's recent directives which clearly put the onus of decontamination prior to ship-breaking on the ship owner, should be seen as clear signals to the global shipping industry that they cannot escape their responsibilities and liabilities," said Ramapati Kumar, Greenpeace Ship- breaking campaigner.

The Rainbow Warrior will return from Alang to Mumbai for the 19th anniversary of the Bhopal disaster on December 2nd 2003.

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