THE UN ADMITS ROLE IN HAITI CHOLERA OUTBREAK – WHAT NEXT
The United Nations has, at long last, accepted some
responsibility that it played a part in a cholera epidemic that broke
out in Haiti in 2010 and has since killed at least 9,200 people and
infected nearly a million people.
This is the first time that the UN has acknowledged that it bears a
duty towards the victims. It is a significant step forward in the quest
for accountability and justice.
Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. It is frequently
devastated by disasters – both natural and man-made. Yet cholera was not
one of its problems before 2010. Then a group of UN peacekeepers was
sent to help after an earthquake.
The UN did not screen its peacekeepers for cholera, nor did it build
adequate toilet facilities in its peacekeeping camps. As a
result, wastewater carrying cholera flowed directly into a tributary
that feeds Haiti’s main river. Given that vast numbers of the population
rely on the Artibonite river for washing, cooking, cleaning and
drinking, cholera quickly spread around many parts of the country. The
disease is now endemic within the country. People continue to die at an
alarming rate by this preventable and treatable disease.
The UN has also refused to provide a mechanism through which victims
can seek remedies. Peacekeeping missions are legally bound to set up
claims boards for victims of civil wrongs, but this has not occurred in
Haiti. A class action suit has been brought to New York district and
appellate courts, but the UN has refused to appear before those courts
and has hidden behind the shield of immunity from the jurisdiction of
national courts. Advocacy groups have lobbied the UN and member states
to provide political resolution, but none has been forthcoming.
Now, with Ban Ki-Moon’s tenure nearly finished, and with the Haiti
situation remaining a stain on the UN’s reputation, it seems as though
the five-year impasse may be coming to an end.
Third World Network
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