Please join the Crowley Program as we present “Oil Contamination & Human Rights – The Toxic Legacy of Oil Companies in Ecuador”. Attorney Steven Donziger, who serves as legal counsel to numerous indigenous groups in Ecuador in a landmark human rights case against Chevron (Aguinda v. ChevronTexaco), will discuss the current status and the potential legal and corporate governance implications of litigating indigenous rights against large corporations in a foreign forum.
This historic case, filed in 2003 by 30,000 plaintiffs, is the first ever where a large American company was forced into a Latin American court by indigenous peoples to face charges of genocide and human rights violations. The case is now entering its final phase with a potential multi-billion dollar judgment and important legal precedents hanging in the balance. Chevron is charged with having deliberately dumped 18.5 billion gallons of toxic waste directly into the rainforest, threatening the survival of the indigenous people in the region. The case implicates important issues of globalization, indigenous rights, international law, and corporate responsibility.
Location:
Fordham University School of Law – 140 W62nd Street, New York, NY 10023, Room 303
Date:
March 27th 2007, 12:30 – 1:30.
