UN admits it needs to do more after causing Haiti cholera epidemic

By Michelle Nurse On Aug 19, 2016

A man bathing in the Meye River in Meye, Haiti, in 2012. Studies have traced the 2010 cholera outbreak there to infected United Nations peacekeepers whose fecal waste had leaked into the river. (Photo via New York Times) — A man bathing in the Meye River in Meye, Haiti, in 2012. Studies have traced the 2010 cholera outbreak there to infected United Nations peacekeepers whose fecal waste had leaked into the river. **(Photo via New York Times)**

NEW YORK, Aug 18 2016 (IPS) – Six years since UN peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti, the United Nations has finally accepted a greater degree of responsibility for its role in causing the outbreak, which has claimed tens of thousands of lives, and affected hundreds of thousands more.

“The UN 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,” Deputy Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, Farhan Haq said in a statement shared with IPS.

The UN is working “towards a significantly new set of UN actions,” details of which will be released in the coming two months, said Haq.

“This is a groundbreaking first step towards justice,” said Beatrice Lindstrom Esq., lawyer for victims of cholera in Haiti and Staff Attorney at the Institute for Justice and Democracy Haiti (IJDH) in response to the change in the UN’s position.

However she tempered her statement by saying that “the real test is in what comes next.”

Read more at: Inter Press Service