UN sued for billions of dollars by victims of Haiti cholera epidemic |
08 Jan 2014 12:33 - 08 Jan 2014 13:19 #172197
by Chin
UN sued for billions of dollars by victims of Haiti cholera epidemic
The United Nations has been sued for billions of dollars by Haitian victims of a cholera outbreak that scientists have linked to UN peacekeepers deployed in the country after its devastating 2010 earthquake
People wade through flooded streets after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti Photo: AP
Jon Swaine By Jon Swaine, New York
The United Nations has been sued for billions of dollars by victims of a deadly cholera epidemic in Haiti that scientists say was caused by UN peacekeepers.
In a lawsuit filed in New York on Wednesday, the organisation was asked to pay compensation for the thousands of Haitians who have been killed or injured by the outbreak since October 2010.
The epidemic caused about 8,300 deaths and made more than 650,000 ill, heaping further misery on a country already struggling to recover from the devastating January 2010 earthquake.
Studies have concluded that the disease was introduced to the country by UN peacekeeping troops from Nepal deployed following the disaster.
A flawed sanitation system at a barracks for the troops was blamed for contaminating its largest river, which is used for drinking and bathing.
The outbreak caused widespread protests in Haiti demanding the peacekeepers’ withdrawal. The island’s residents have long had an uneasy relationship with the UN mission first deployed following the 2004 coup, with troops from various countries accused of sexual abuse and rape, in some cases involving children.
The UN has refused to accept responsibility for the epidemic, declined previous requests to pay compensation, and insists that it cannot be sued because it holds immunity from such claims.
Acknowledging that no one had ever successfully sued the UN, Brian Concannon, the director of The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), the advocacy group which filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, said his group was forced to go to the courts after the UN repeatedly declined to enter negotiations for settlements.
“There was really no other option for the victims,†he said. It seeks more than $2 billion ($1.25 billion) for improvements to Haiti’s water infrastructure and unspecified damages for the victims. The IJDH has previously demanded a minimum of $100,000 for the families of each person killed by cholera and at least $50,000 for each survivor.
The lawsuit also accuses the UN of trying to cover up its role in causing the outbreak by giving “false statements and misleading information†about precautions it took, such as the testing of troops.
In a speech in Geneva this week, Navi Pillay, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was demanding “inside the UN and outside†that “those who suffered as a result of that cholera be provided with compensationâ€. However, Ms Pillay did not specify who should pay.
The United Nations has been sued for billions of dollars by Haitian victims of a cholera outbreak that scientists have linked to UN peacekeepers deployed in the country after its devastating 2010 earthquake
People wade through flooded streets after Tropical Storm Hanna hit the area in Gonaives, Haiti Photo: AP
Jon Swaine By Jon Swaine, New York
The United Nations has been sued for billions of dollars by victims of a deadly cholera epidemic in Haiti that scientists say was caused by UN peacekeepers.
In a lawsuit filed in New York on Wednesday, the organisation was asked to pay compensation for the thousands of Haitians who have been killed or injured by the outbreak since October 2010.
The epidemic caused about 8,300 deaths and made more than 650,000 ill, heaping further misery on a country already struggling to recover from the devastating January 2010 earthquake.
Studies have concluded that the disease was introduced to the country by UN peacekeeping troops from Nepal deployed following the disaster.
A flawed sanitation system at a barracks for the troops was blamed for contaminating its largest river, which is used for drinking and bathing.
The outbreak caused widespread protests in Haiti demanding the peacekeepers’ withdrawal. The island’s residents have long had an uneasy relationship with the UN mission first deployed following the 2004 coup, with troops from various countries accused of sexual abuse and rape, in some cases involving children.
The UN has refused to accept responsibility for the epidemic, declined previous requests to pay compensation, and insists that it cannot be sued because it holds immunity from such claims.
Acknowledging that no one had ever successfully sued the UN, Brian Concannon, the director of The Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH), the advocacy group which filed the lawsuit on Wednesday, said his group was forced to go to the courts after the UN repeatedly declined to enter negotiations for settlements.
“There was really no other option for the victims,†he said. It seeks more than $2 billion ($1.25 billion) for improvements to Haiti’s water infrastructure and unspecified damages for the victims. The IJDH has previously demanded a minimum of $100,000 for the families of each person killed by cholera and at least $50,000 for each survivor.
The lawsuit also accuses the UN of trying to cover up its role in causing the outbreak by giving “false statements and misleading information†about precautions it took, such as the testing of troops.
In a speech in Geneva this week, Navi Pillay, the UN’s High Commissioner for Human Rights, said she was demanding “inside the UN and outside†that “those who suffered as a result of that cholera be provided with compensationâ€. However, Ms Pillay did not specify who should pay.
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