United Nations admits role in Haiti cholera outbreak

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.

Details are sketchy on what kind of aid will be offered. “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”.

“These efforts must include, as a central focus, the victims of the disease and their families”, the statement said.

“United Nations et.al, in accordance with the UN Charter and other global treaties”, said a statement issued by Mr. Ban’s spokesperson in NY.

The announcement comes after a United States appeals court on Thursday turned down an appeal by Haitian victims of the epidemic.

On Friday, Haq added that “the United Nations has a moral responsibility to the victims”.

A USA federal appeals court has upheld the United Nations’ immunity from a damage claim filed by human rights lawyers on behalf of thousands of Haitians killed or sickened by a cholera epidemic they blame on U.N. peacekeepers. The UN is protected from being sued under legal agreements with the USA and other member countries. Later genetic sequencing by a panel of experts appointed by the United Nations identified the cholera strain in victims in Haiti as a flawless match to the strain responsible for the outbreak in Nepal.

“The UN must follow this announcement with action, including issuing a public apology, establishing a plan to provide compensation to the victims who have lost so much, and ensuring that cholera is eliminated in Haiti through robust investment in water and sanitation infrastructure”, said Beatrice Lindstrom, staff attorney at the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti.

Cholera is a disease that spreads through contaminated water and causes nausea and severe diarrhea. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are 3 million to 5 million cases of the illness every year worldwide and 100,000 deaths.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon acknowledged on Thursday that reckless waste disposal played a role in the 2010 outbreak that killed and infected thousands of Haitians and said the organization will implement a “significant new set of U.N. actions” in the next few months to address the epidemic. The UN says it is considering several options.

The draft report The New York Times obtained, prepared by special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights Philip Alston and commissioned by the UN, says the epidemic “would not have broken out but for the actions of the United Nations”.

The UN is not saying that it caused the epidemic. Without a doubt, Haiti’s cholera outbreak is by far the largest outbreak of its kind the world has experienced in recent decades, but believe it or not, little to nothing is being done to eradicate it. Dr. Renaud Piarroux, a pediatrician who was among the first to alert the world to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, revisited the island nation recently.