UN rejects damage claim for Haiti cholera victims
Today, the United Nations advised the claimants’ representatives that the claims are not receivable pursuant to Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.In November 2011, the Boston-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti filed a petition at UN headquarters in New York seeking a minimum of $100,000 for the families or next-of-kin of each person killed by cholera and at least$50,000 for each victim who suffered illness or injury from cholera.
The UN has never acknowledged responsibility for the outbreak - which has infected more than 600,000 people - saying it is impossible to pinpoint the exact source of the disease, despite the mounting evidence the epidemic was caused by poor sanitation at a camp housing infected Nepalese peacekeepers.The lawyer, Brian Concannon, said the victims' legal team would challenge the UN's right to immunity from Haitian courts, on the grounds that it had not established an alternative mechanism for dealing with accountability issues, as stipulated in its agreement with the government.
“The secretary-general again expresses his profound sympathy for the terrible suffering caused by the cholera epidemic, and calls on all partners in Haiti and the international community to work together to ensure better health and a better future for the people of Haiti,” Nesirky said.It argued that the U.N. and its peacekeeping force are liable for hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to adequately screen peacekeeping soldiers, citing studies indicating that infected soldiers caused the cholera outbreak.
It argued that the U.N. and its peacekeeping force are liable for hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to adequately screen peacekeeping soldiers, citing studies indicating that infected soldiers caused the cholera outbreak.
Today, the United Nations advised the claimants’ representatives that the claims are not receivable pursuant to Section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations,” spokesperson Martin Nesirky told reporters in New York.In November 2011, the Boston-based Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti filed a petition at UN headquarters in New York seeking a minimum of $100,000 for the families or next-of-kin of each person killed by cholera and at least$50,000 for each victim who suffered illness or injury from cholera.
The UN has never acknowledged responsibility for the outbreak - which has infected more than 600,000 people - saying it is impossible to pinpoint the exact source of the disease, despite the mounting evidence the epidemic was caused by poor sanitation at a camp housing infected Nepalese peacekeepers.The lawyer, Brian Concannon, said the victims' legal team would challenge the UN's right to immunity from Haitian courts, on the grounds that it had not established an alternative mechanism for dealing with accountability issues, as stipulated in its agreement with the government.
“The secretary-general again expresses his profound sympathy for the terrible suffering caused by the cholera epidemic, and calls on all partners in Haiti and the international community to work together to ensure better health and a better future for the people of Haiti,” Nesirky said.It argued that the U.N. and its peacekeeping force are liable for hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to adequately screen peacekeeping soldiers, citing studies indicating that infected soldiers caused the cholera outbreak.
It argued that the U.N. and its peacekeeping force are liable for hundreds of millions of dollars for failing to adequately screen peacekeeping soldiers, citing studies indicating that infected soldiers caused the cholera outbreak.
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