Speaking at the ministry's regular press briefing on June 25, Foreign Ministry spokesperson Pham Thu Hang responded to a VietNamNet question regarding the French Court of Cassation's mid-June hearing on Tran To Nga's lawsuit against 14 US chemical companies over Agent Orange/dioxin.

Hang said that although the war ended decades ago, its devastating consequences continue to affect Vietnam and its people. Among them are the particularly severe and long-lasting impacts suffered by victims of Agent Orange.

"Once again, we support the efforts of Agent Orange/dioxin victims to demand that the chemical companies which produced and supplied Agent Orange/dioxin to the United States during the war in Vietnam take responsibility for addressing the consequences they caused," the Foreign Ministry spokesperson said.

Tran To Nga, a French citizen of Vietnamese origin, has filed a lawsuit against 14 US chemical companies over their involvement in the production of Agent Orange/dioxin used during the war in Vietnam.

After pursuing the case for 17 years, Tran To Nga has entered another legal stage in her long campaign to seek justice for Agent Orange victims.

Speaking at a press conference after the hearing, she said her legal battle is not only about seeking justice for herself but also for the millions of Agent Orange victims in Vietnam.

According to Tran To Nga, if the case succeeds, its significance will extend beyond the lawsuit itself by potentially establishing legal precedent for similar cases in the future.

Now aged 85, she said she remains determined to pursue the case to the very end. She stressed that even if the French Court of Cassation does not rule in her favour, she and her legal team will continue seeking justice through other legal avenues, including the possibility of bringing the case before the European Court of Human Rights.

Tran Thuong