OECD Final Statement
Updated: Jul 2
An official OECD-linked Australian government report has now permanently recorded historical references to TCDD toxicity, Agent Orange production, birth defect concerns, intergenerational allegations, and international humanitarian law issues.
OECD Final Statement written and signed by the Australian National Contact Point (AusNCP) independent examiner made references to:
→ the 1952 Monsanto warning about TCDD
→ late-1960s birth defect studies
→ AP I Article 77 (Geneva Convention)
→ intergenerational allegations
→ UN Special Rapporteur Dr Orellana’s Toxic Remnants of War report
→ UN framing around toxic exposure and descendants
→ Royal Commission material
→ Australian and NZ veterans being exposed/allegedly exposed
That is significant because those references are now embedded in an official OECD/NCP international accountability document.
These are some of the key historical and scientific points the Independent Examiner himself incorporated into the Final Statement following his independent review of public material:
“It was discovered that the manufacturing process for Agent Orange introduced a contaminant known as TCDD, which is toxic.”
“Some commentary says the presence of TCDD as a contaminant in 2,4,5-T was first documented in 1957…”
“…concerns about TCDD levels in 2,4,5-T were reported in 1964.”
“A 1985 Australian Royal Commission report states that in 1952, Monsanto had warned some US military personnel of the TCDD ‘by-product’…”
“Dow temporarily ceased production in 1964 because of TCDD concerns related to workplace exposure.”
“studies in the late 1960s suggested TCDD caused birth defects in mice.”
“concerns grew about effects of Agent Orange on humans (including allegations about birth defects in areas sprayed in Vietnam).”
“in April 1970, US authorities suspended the use of the herbicide 2,4,5-T around homes, recreation areas and on crops intended for human consumption.”
“the US suspended the military use of Agent Orange in 1970, and its use by the US military in Vietnam ended in 1971.”
“The US military procured Agent Orange from seven to nine chemical companies in the US… with the largest supply from Dow and Monsanto.”
“…in 1966, US authorities compelled production of Agent Orange from the manufacturers under US law.”
The Final Statement also preserved the broader international dimension of the complaint, including repeated references to:
→ Germany
→ the Netherlands
→ the United States
→ multiple NCP coordination
→ UN material
→ international processes
I believed the broader international humanitarian and toxic-remnants dimensions of the complaint required the highest possible neutrality and international framing, and I was concerned those dimensions could become narrowed within a more domestically focused US process.
My objection to US NCP involvement was informed by historically documented controversies surrounding war-related intelligence and state narratives, including the Pentagon Papers, the Gulf of Tonkin incident, the findings of the United Kingdom’s Iraq Inquiry (the Chilcot Report) relating to Weapons of Mass Destruction, the findings of Australia’s Brereton Report concerning alleged unlawful conduct during the Afghanistan War, and subsequent international controversy surrounding intelligence failures, civilian harm, and accountability issues arising from the War.
It is important to note that some of the international treaties and legal frameworks referenced in this report have been ratified by Australia, while the United States has not adopted or ratified them in the same way.
The AusNCP Final Statement ultimately preserved a substantial amount of historical and international context within an official OECD-linked record.
That means:
→ the issue is now formally documented within an international institutional accountability framework.
→ this document may continue to matter beyond the life of this one procedure.
→ the report itself expressly preserves future procedural possibilities, references ongoing impacts arguments, acknowledges the possibility of future allegations, and states that a new complaint could occur through an “appropriate National Contact Point”
→ this phase ended, but the broader pathway remains open.
Here are some things people can now do with this report:
→ take it to your local Federal MP or Senator
→ show it to veteran organisations
→ share it with family members affected by Agent Orange
→ send it to journalists or researchers
→ use it when talking about toxic exposure and birth defects
→ use it in discussions about recognition and support for descendants
→ keep it as part of the public historical record
My personal pathways going forward with this report:
🇺🇸Dr Marcos Orellana, UN Special Rapporteur
🇦🇺Prof Ben Saul, UN Special Rapporteur
International Criminal Court (The Hague)
Federal MPs and Senators
Possible engagement with the
🇩🇪German National Contact Point
I will NOT be lodging a case with the US National Contact Point.
I am a dual citizen of Australia & New Zealand and feel the best pathway for me is International.
Anyone can also use the international pathway I am using & the more people who use international pathways, the harder it becomes to dismiss the Agent Orange 2nd Generation cohort pattern as isolated cases.
Full OECD case 36 report ⬇️
UN contacts:
ICC (The Hague) Article 15 portal: ⬇️
UN Special Rapporteur on toxics & human rights (Dr Marcos Orellana report): ⬇️
Australia Senate Hansard (8 Nov 2011): ⬇️
Agent Orange Child website:⬇️
A practical note: srtoxics@ohchr.org, hrc-sr-toxics@un.org, and ohchr-registry@un.org are the most directly relevant addresses for correspondence relating to toxic exposures and the Special Rapporteur mandate.
The treaty-body addresses (CRC, CRPD, CESCR, CERD, CCPR) are generally used for communications relating to their respective committees.
Warm Agent Orange Burns regards,
Danielle Stevens
Geneva AP1 Article 77
We will always be a child of a Vietnam Veteran
Update 2/7/26
Australia created the Vietnam Veterans’ Sons and Daughters Support Program in May 2000.
That means the government has known for 26 years that children of Vietnam veterans needed a specific support pathway.
But the program still only recognises a tiny list of 5 conditions while many of us live with complex, multi-system health issues.
Recognition exists — it’s the exclusion that remains.
The timeline is becoming impossible to ignore.
📌 May 2000 – Australia creates the Vietnam Veterans’ Sons and Daughters Support Program. 🙄
📌 8 November 2011 – Australian Senate Hansard records concerns about the health of the children of Vietnam veterans, including references to children being born with birth defects.
📌 2011–2026 – United Nations experts continue warning about the intergenerational impacts of toxic exposures and the rights of affected children and descendants.
📌 2025 – The UN Special Rapporteur’s Toxic Remnants of War (TRW) report highlights the long-term and transgenerational consequences of wartime toxic contamination.
📌 2026 – The Australian OECD National Contact Point Final Statement permanently records historical references to TCDD toxicity, birth defect concerns, intergenerational allegations, and international humanitarian & human rights issues relating to descendants.
From parliamentary records, to UN warnings, to international reports, the paper trail keeps growing.
The question is no longer whether these concerns have been raised.
The question is: what happens when decades of warnings continue to be ignored?
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