|
"Allowing this outlaw company operating at Pt Esun to scare the government away from doing its job to protect the environment of Indonesia is infuriating and pathetic," said Yuyun Ismawati, of the Indonesian environmental NGO Nexus3 Foundation. "We have seen this as a common practice now in many sectors. Is Indonesia going to be ruled by the law, or by thugs?" she asked.
BAN, the Nexus3 Foundation and Ecoton of Indonesia echo the calls recently made by local journalists and others6. They find the solution to the problem very clear -- follow the law.
Recommendations for Indonesian government:
1) The wastes have been imported into Indonesia illegally as they violate the prohibition on trading in Basel-controlled wastes (A1181 -- hazardous electronic waste, and Y49 (all other electronic wastes) between Basel Parties, such as Indonesia, and non-Parties, such as the US (Article 4(5)).
2) The wastes have been imported into the country illegally as they arrived without the requisite notification and consent by Indonesian authorities (Article 4(1)(c)). This constitutes illegal traffic under international law – the Basel Convention (Article 9)
3) Under the Basel Convention, illegal traffic is deemed a criminal act. (Article 4(3))
4) As a criminal act, the importers and those aiding and abetting them must be prosecuted in court. They must be shut down at once and their assets seized to pay for the container repatriation and government costs.
5) Shipping lines are not immune from responsibility under the Basel Convention and should be required to pay for the demurrage and repatriation charges as they allowed the illegal shipment into the country.
6) Under Article 9(2) of the Convention, the wastes in question should be repatriated to the US or other country of origin. The competent authorities of these countries should be notified. The costs of return and the actual return arrangements should be borne by the shipping lines and importers. All repatriation and container numbers of the returned waste must be revealed to the public to prevent the wastes ending up in third countries.
7) Information regarding any fraud, including the use of false declarations on the shipments, should be communicated to the public, to the shipping lines involved, to the exporting country government and other relevant government and intergovernmental authorities.
Recommendations for the United States Federal and State governments and other stakeholders:
1) The US should ratify the Basel Convention at the earliest opportunity.
2) The US Department of Justice (DOJ) should prosecute exporters engaging in any form of fraud, including falsely declaring exported wastes.
3) State governments, for example, California, should not allow any companies that violate the laws of importing countries, such as Indonesia, into their electronic waste state takeback programs.
4) Voluntary certifications that have not already done so, should forbid the certification of the 10 Brokers of Shame, and forbid certified companies from being involved with the 10 brokers directly or downstream, as well as with any companies whose operations violate the laws of importing countries.
5) Major corporations, institutions, and government bodies should not allow themselves to become customers, directly or indirectly, of the 10 Brokers of Shame or any other companies found violating the laws of importing countries such as Indonesia.
END
| 
