Mini Q&A with Tribunal Journalist Ilang-Ilang Quijano

I asked Ilang-Ilang Quijano (part of the global media team for the upcoming PPT) a few questions about the upcoming Tribunal.  

Do you expect any officials from the BIG SIX officials to show up?

The Big 6 has been sent summons by the PPT secretariat in Rome but they have not confirmed attendance so far.

Is this the first tribunal regarding chemical companies? 

The PPT started in 1979 and has held 35 sessions before this, the earliest ones were on the Vietnam war and Latin American dictatorships. But this is the first tribunal on agrochemical TNCs. 

How long did it take for you to put this tribunal together? 

PAN International has been planning this for around 2 years.

What do you hope to achieve? 

The PPT is as an international opinion tribunal and thus a crucial part of its success is the public attention that it will draw for the cases involved, and to pressure governments to take some action toward making corporations accountable. But also, it aims to draw up alternative legal articulations that can be used in the future for creating an effective system for ensuring corporate accountability at the national and international level.