The failure by the United Nations to admit responsibility for a devastating cholera outbreak in Haiti was condemned as a disgrace yesterday (Tuesday) by one of its own experts.
Philip Alston, an Australian academic who is also a Special Rapporteur on human rights and poverty for the world body, has issued a highly critical report that squarely blames UN blue helmets for a cholera epidemic that has killed almost 10,000 people in Haiti.
Most experts now accept that cholera was first introduced there in 2010 by troops sent from Nepal to help aid efforts after the massive earthquake that devastated the country. Cholera is endemic in Nepal but, until then, it was unknown in Haiti, the poorest country in the Western hemisphere.
Within days, as Haitians reeled from the quake, they were swept up in the largest cholera epidemic in modern times. Up to 800,000 people were infected, and cases continue to present.
The UN acknowledged its operation had played a role in the outbreak in August, but it stopped short of admitting guilt for fear of being sued. A New York court upheld its immunity from claims on Aug 18, leaving plaintiffs 90 days to appeal to the Supreme Court.
But Mr Alston said UN lawyers gave flawed advice and that "abdicating responsibility is morally unconscionable, legally indefensible and politically self-defeating". His report comes a day after the out-going UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon announced a compensation scheme.
Half of the $400 million (pounds 328 million) he promised on Monday will be spent on cholera eradication schemes and improved sanitation. The rest is destined for "material assistance" which could see each victim's family receive around $21,000 (pounds 17,000), according to Dr David -Nabarro, the British medical expert serving as the UN's anti-cholera chief.
However, Dr Nabarro said the UN was yet to announce where the money would come from.