A court in the USA has ruled that the United Nations can not be prosecuted for its role in a cholera outbreak that sickened and killed thousands of Haitians.
Advertisement
The United Nations’ belated acknowledgement it played a role in a cholera epidemic in Haiti that has killed almost 10,000 people was hailed by victims’ advocates Thursday as vindication of their efforts to hold the world body accountable.
The Office of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon in an email this week said “the United Nations has become convinced that it needs to do much more regarding its own involvement in the initial outbreak and the suffering of those affected by cholera”, reported the New York Times.
Evidence suggested that the disease was introduced into Haiti’s largest river through sewage from the United Nations peacekeeping base.
The soldiers had recently arrived from Nepal, where a cholera outbreak was underway.
The announcement also came just before the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in NY upheld the U.N.’s “diplomatic immunity” in answering for its actions, meaning it would not be required to pay settlements to victims of the outbreak. Haq’s statement Thursday came a step closer to an admission of at least some responsibility and was welcomed by lawyers for the victims.
United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has said that the worldwide organisation played a role in the initial outbreak of the cholera epidemic in Haiti, reported The New York Times.
The announcement comes after a USA appeals court on Thursday turned down an appeal by Haitian victims of the epidemic.
“The United Nations has a moral responsibility to the victims of the cholera epidemic and for supporting Haiti in overcoming the epidemic and building sound water, sanitation and health systems”, Ban said in a statement.
While the number of cholera cases has been significantly reduced from the initial outbreak, the fact that the preventable disease is still routinely sickening and killing Haitians is galling to many.
He said details of the package are still under discussion.
According to the UN, Some 72 percent of Haitians have no toilets at home and 42 percent still lack access to drinking water. These two outbreaks shared many environmental preconditions-warm water, urban crowding, poor sanitation and raw sewage.
In Friday’s remarks, Haq stopped short of acknowledging U.N.’s direct responsibility for introducing cholera in Haiti.
“The Secretary-General deeply regrets the awful suffering the people of Haiti have endured as a result of the cholera epidemic”, Haq said.
More than 9,300 Haitians have died of the disease since 2010. Within a month, cholera had exploded in the capital city of Port-au-Prince “like a bomb”, according to Ivan Gayton, an emergency coordinator for Medecins Sans Frontieres.
In a decision late on Thursday, the US Second Circuit Court of Appeals in NY upheld a lower court’s January 2015 dismissal of a lawsuit brought by lawyers seeking compensation and a public apology for 5,000 Haitian cholera victims. But he said cholera won’t be eliminated without stepped up efforts from the Haitian government and global community “and crucially, the resources to fulfill our shared duty”.
Advertisement
Six years on, the bacteria is far from eradicated in Haiti.
