Vietnam regrets that a Paris appeal court has rejected Vietnamese French Tran To Nga’s appeal against American firms that supplied Agent Orange (AO)/dioxin for use by U.S. troops during the war in Vietnam, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has announced.   

At a regular press conference in Hanoi on Thursday, ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang made the statement regarding the appeal by Nga, an 82-year-old Vietnamese-French citizen who has been accusing 14 agrochemical firms of causing serious harm to her and others by selling AO/dioxin to the American military, which used the toxic herbicide during wartime in Vietnam.

In dismissing Nga's appeal, the Paris Court of Appeal argued that it lacks jurisdiction over the case because the companies being sued are legally immune from prosecution, having acted under orders from the U.S. government.

This reasoning mirrors that of the Evry Crown Court, which also rejected Nga's lawsuit in a first-instance hearing in 2021, seven years after she filed her petition.

At the press meeting, Hang reiterated Vietnam's stance on the lawsuit, emphasizing that while the war has ended, its devastating consequences, particularly the long-term effects of Agent Orange/dioxin, continue to deeply impact the country and its people.

“We strongly support the AO/dioxin victims and demand that chemical companies that produced and provided AO/dioxin for the U.S. military during the war in Vietnam, which has caused millions of Vietnamese people to suffer, take responsibility for the damage,” Hang underscored.

Shortly after the Paris Court of Appeal's ruling, Nga, who has spent over a decade seeking justice for the victims, announced her intention to take the case to France’s highest appeal court for a final ruling.

William Bourdon, Nga’s lead attorney, expressed deep disappointment with the decision by the Paris Court of Appeal.

“However, the appeal court’s ruling does not diminish our determination to continue pursuing the lawsuit,” Bourdon asserted. 

Nga, born in 1942 in the southern province of Soc Trang, suffered from five among the 17 diseases, disorders, deformities, and malformations associated with AO/dioxin exposure recognized by the U.S, according to the Vietnam News Agency.

AO/dioxin is an extremely toxic defoliant that has caused terrible consequences for millions of Vietnamese people, including Nga. 

Over the 1961-71 period, U.S. troops conducted 19,905 missions spraying a total of more than 80 million liters of toxic chemicals, 61 percent of which was AO containing 366kg of dioxin, on nearly 26,000 hamlets and villages that covered 3.06 million hectares, or nearly one-fourth of the area of southern Vietnam.

Between 2.1 and 4.8 million Vietnamese people have died or suffered serious illnesses after being exposed to such AO/dioxin, according to an estimate.

Every year, Vietnam earmarks a budget of more than VND10 trillion (US$440 million) to cover expenses on monthly allowances, healthcare, and functional rehabilitation for AO/dioxin victims, as well as on support for areas severely affected by the toxic herbicide.

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