The Community of Tauccamarca Demands Justice in Peru: Bayer Pesticide Killed 24 Indigenous Children

On October 22nd, 1999, 44 children of a Peruvian school of Tauccamarca in Cuzco department, were intoxicated for eating a breakfast that was contaminated with a highly toxic pesticide called Parathion, manufactured by Bayer. 24 children died, while the others suffered serious neurological consequences and learning problems.

The Alternative Agriculture Action Network (RAAA) of Peru accused German corporation Bayer before the PPT for violating the Peruvian consitution and especially for its violation of the rights to life, moral, physical and psychological integrity, and the free development and well-being in the Tauccamarca community, Cuzco department. The organization also accuses the National Service of Agrarian Health (SENASA), an agency of the Peruvian Minister of Agriculture, for the serious human rights violations.
Bayer introduced Parathion in Peru and commercialized it specifically for Andean crops of small and medium farmers, such as the ones in Tauccamarca. According to the RAAA of Peru, the German corporation knew in advance that Parathion would be used by Peruvians, often members of the Quechua People, with a high rate of illiteracy. Bayer could have anticipated the chance that users fail to read the product's label - which did not provide much information anyway- increasing the chance that the poison is used incorrectly. The company did not provide any technical assistance to the users.

The World Health Organization categorized Parathion as an extremely toxic pesticide. Pesticides in this category fall under sales restrictions in Peru, with its commercialization being supervised was restricted by the SENASA. The plaintiffs consider that SENASA is also responsible for the intoxication and death of the children of Tauccamarca, for not enforcing adequate control of the applying sales restrictions.

The plaintiffs also consider that Bayer continues breaking the Peruvian laws by failiing to withdraw these toxic products from sale. This implies a serious threat to the health of the people of Tauccamarca, besides the environmental damage caused by agrotoxics.

The First Criminal Court of Cuzco convicted professor Isaac Villena Nuñez - who provided the polluted food for breakfast – for negligent murder and ordered him to do community service and to pay a civil compensation together with the Ministry of Education, to each of the families who lost their children. In October of 2001 the attorney of the families filed a complaint before the Seventh Special Court of Lima, the Peruvian capital, against the National Direction of Environmental Health, the National Service of Agrarian Health and Bayer. The lawyer asked for a compensation for damages.

In April of 2007, the Judge of the Seventh Civil Court of Lima, of the High Court of Justice, called a settlement hearing, which was postponed at the request of the Ministry of Agriculture. The judge said she would issue a resolution that would guide the process and that she would call another settlement hearing shortly, which she failed to do. Bayer has yet to pay its crimes in Tauccamarca.

The actions of Bayer, the National Service of Agrarian Health and the General Direction of Environmental Health, violated the fundamental rights provided under the Peruvian Constitution, such as the rights to life, moral, physical and psychological integrity, and the free development and well-being of the people. The Alternative Agriculture Action Network also recommends to analyze the violation of the right to health and the access to justice of the indigenous peoples.

The legal proceedings over the poisoning of children and the death of 24 of them, has already taken seven years and no judgment has been issued against the defendants. There is a social and environmental debt that Bayer and the state agencies responsible must pay.

Denouncing organizations: Red de Acción en Agricultura Alternativa – RAAA (Perú)