A United Nations expert said there is evidence to support the belief that pollution from a ship that dumped toxic waste in an Ivory Coast port caused the deaths of more than a dozen people, according to a report from the Agence France-Presse.
The expert also told the AFP that there is evidence that the dumping led to thousands of ill residents.
“This report finds that there is strong prima facie evidence that human rights violations occurred as a result of this incident," Okechukwu Ibeanu, a UN reporter, told press in Geneva, according to AFP.
The toxic dumping occurred in August 2006, when a ship chartered by oil trading firm Trafigura allegedly dumped fuel and caustic soda in the water.
Trafigura already paid out damages to the victims out of court. The company maintains it did not cause the deaths or hospitalizations, the AFP reported.
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