On April 18, 2017, after months of reviewing evidence, the five international judges who comprised the Monsanto Tribunal found that Monsanto was guilty of ecocide. This was the conclusion of a civil, international opinion tribunal held Oct. 14 through 16, 2016 at The Hague in the Netherlands, home to both the International Criminal Court (ICC) and U.N. International Court of Justice. The tribunal heard testimony relating to Monsanto’s potential crimes against humanity and the environment, including the knowing distribution of dangerous products including their herbicide, Roundup® and its main ingredient, glyphosate.
A Miller Firm attorney was one of the testifying witnesses at the tribunal. The Miller Firm is co-lead counsel in the consolidated litigation against Monsanto on behalf of victims who have developed non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma in the U.S after exposure to Roundup®. This cancer originates in the lymphatic system and has become more prevalent in the last few decades.
The tribunal judges found that Monsanto has “engaged in practices which have negatively impacted the right to a healthy environment, the right to food and the right to health.” These actions are also known as ecocide.
In their ruling, the judges wrote about the power of having brought together and connected international lawyers and organizations that 
represent the victims of Monsanto’s dangerous practices. These include the dissemination of “dangerous agrochemicals in industrial agriculture;” “the engineering, production, introduction and release of genetically engineered crops;” and “the introduction of persistent organic pollutants such as PCB into the environment.” Monsanto’s Roundup® is one of the “dangerous agrochemicals” mentioned.
The tribunal stated its work is likely to aid “liability cases against Monsanto and similar companies…Companies that cause damage to health, food and the environment should and will be held accountable for their actions.” They also mentioned that Bayer, which is considering a merger with Monsanto, should pay close attention to Monsanto’s dangerous practices and damaged reputation.
“The hope is that the work completed during the past six months by the Monsanto Tribunal judges will help international policymakers and courts as they look for ways to hold multinational corporations accountable for the damage they inflict on our right to health and a healthy environment,” said Katherine Paul, associate director of the Organic Consumers Association, according to Common Dreams (commondreams.org).
The Miller Firm is presently accepting clients who developed non-Hodgkin’s Lymphoma after exposure to Roundup®. If this has happened to you, please visit our Roundup® Lawsuit page to request a free consultation. Or, you can call the Miller Firm at 1-800-882-2525.
A video of the judges delivering their findings on the tribunal English audio channel is below.