(MintPress)—A day after former President Bill Clinton responded to questions about the U.N.’s connection to the cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed over 7,000 people, hundreds of Haitians marched to the U.N. headquarters in Port-au-Prince to demand accountability for the organization’s alleged role in reintroducing the disease, which had not been seen in the country in over 50 years.
The first cases of the Haitian cholera outbreak arose in October 2010, shortly after increased U.N. peacekeeping forces were deployed to assist the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) in relief efforts following the devastating January 2010 earthquake.
The disease has since claimed over 7,000 lives and infected over 526,000 people. In July 2011, the epidemic infected Haitians at a pace of one person every minute. Several studies, including those conducted by the U.N., show that the disease spread to Haiti through U.N. personnel from Nepal, a nation where cholera is endemic.
The former President and U.N. Special Envoy to Haiti told reporters that the U.N. has given a lot of resources to the mission in Haiti and he was unsure of whether the U.N. peacekeeper was even aware that he was carrying the virus.
“Unless we know that he knew or that they knew, the people that sent him, that he was carrying that virus and therefore that he could cause the amount of death and misery and sickness, I think it’s better to focus on fixing it,” Clinton said.
Clinton’s response deviated from recent remarks made by U.S. Ambassador to the U.N., Susan Rice, who believes that the allegations against the U.N. mission in Haiti is hurting its legitimacy and the organization should acknowledge the allegations made against it.
“The cholera epidemic and allegations of sexual exploitation and abuse by some mission personnel have badly eroded support for MINUSTAH and undermine its work,” said Rice.
“We are deeply troubled by these allegations, and expect the United Nations to redouble its efforts to prevent any further incidents of this kind and to ensure that those responsible are held accountable.”
Haitians seek legal accountability for cholera outbreak
Last fall, civil rights groups, acting on behalf of over 5,000 victims, filed a lawsuit against MINUSTAH for its role in the Haitian cholera outbreak. According to the petitioners’ complaint, “the cholera outbreak is directly attributable to the negligence, gross negligence, recklessness, and deliberate indifference for the health and lives of Haiti’s citizens by the United Nations (“UN”) and its subsidiary, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (“MINUSTAH”)”.
MINUSTAH is accused of negligence in screening troops from countries where cholera is endemic and failing to maintain sanitation facilities and waste disposal at camps located near major waterways in Haiti. Additionally, the plaintiffs claim MINUSTAH did not accurately test water quality at camps and failed to take immediate corrective action at the onset of the outbreak.
Although 75% of individuals who are carriers of cholera do not exhibit active symptoms, the U.N. does not require personnel from countries like Nepal, where cholera is endemic, to be tested unless symptoms are present.
The cholera victims are seeking monetary compensation, an adequate response by the U.N. including medical treatment and new water sanitation infrastructure, as well as a public apology to the Haitian people.
Mario Joseph, managing attorney at the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), a rights group representing the plaintiffs, believes, “This is an opportunity for the United Nations to demonstrate that its stated ideals of eliminating disease and encouraging respect for rights are not just empty promises.”
A separate lawsuit, filed by the Community Mobilization for Reparations of Cholera Victims, plans to sue MINUSTAH directly through the Haitian Courts instead of through the United Nations. Haitian lawyer Patrice Florvillus told TIME, “If the [Haitian} state does not want to cooperate, we will say that [it] is complicit with MINUSTAH.”
Attorneys from the group believe the Haitian judicial system has a duty to hold the U.N. accountable for the cholera outbreak and if that fails, Florvilus plans to sue the Haitian government for its silence on the issue.
However, Florvilus is not likely to succeed in his lawsuit since the Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) signed between the United Nations and the Hatian Government in 2004 ensures that all MINUSTAH personnel receive civil and criminal immunity from Haitian courts.
Instead, the SOFA requires that the U.N. establish a standing claims commission to settle civil and criminal claims filed by Haitians attributable directly to MINUSTAH’s actions. However, in the seven years that MINUSTAH has been operating in Haiti, the U.N. has never established a standing claims commission, leaving injured Haitians with no outlets to seek justice for issues such as the cholera outbreak and other injuries claims including several sexual assault cases.
Civil rights groups hope the U.N. will respond to their petition by establishing a standing claims commission, allowing the suit to move forward. However, if all else fails, the groups may try to challenge MINUSTAH in U.S. courts.
Ira Kurzban, one of the lawyers representing the petitioners, says that if the U.N. does not respond, the groups will try the case in the U.S. on grounds that the U.N. gave Haitians no other options for legal redress.
Precedence in Past UN Lawsuits
The 1946 Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations grants legal immunity to U.N. personnel in countries where they are working. However, the Secretary General can provide immunity waivers for individuals in certain cases.
In 2005, Secretary General Kofi Annan waived the diplomatic immunity of chairman of a General Assembly advisory committee who was arrested by U.S. officials in connection with an investigation of soliciting kickbacks. Mr. Vladimir Kuznetsov, chairman of the Advisory Committee on Administrative and Budgetary Questions was arrested in connection to the mismanagement in the UN’s Iraq Oil-for-Food-program of soliciting kickbacks.
The Haitian case differs from other lawsuits, however, because the cholera lawsuit is filed against MINUSTAH and the U.N. as entities, and not at individual personnel. There is no precedent of the Secretary General waiving immunity for an entire body versus individual U.N. employees.
Dianne Post, an international human rights attorney, filed a similar case to the Haitian lawsuit in 2005, representing a group of displaced Roma people in a pending lawsuit against the U.N. for the failure of the U.N. Mission in Kosovo to relocate 143 displaced Roma people living on land known to be contaminated by poisonous lead.
Post’s case has been dismissed from several European courts as well as the Kosovo Human Rights Advisory Commission. In 2011, the U.N. declined to act further on the case stating that the case is directed towards the administration of Kosovo rather than an injury claim for the Roma people.
According to Post, the Haitian case has the potential to set a precedent for future cases against the United Nations. Post told World Politics Review, that this case could lead the U.N. to make standing claims commissions a reality, rather than a sham.
“I think this will lead to the U.N. having to make this a reality, as opposed to a sham, and right now, it is a sham,” said Post. “The pressure is coming from several of these suits, and I think it will lead to a true system where they can be held accountable.”
As of now, the United Nations refuses to accept responsibility for its role in the Haitian cholera outbreak and is not likely to respond to requests for a standing claims commission anytime soon.