Lawsuit Against U.N. on the Spread of Cholera Epidemic in Haiti Advances

Oct 8, 2014 | Damien Cave, New York Times
View Original

A federal judge in New York has agreed to hear oral arguments in a lawsuit filed against the United Nations by advocates for Haitian victims of the deadly cholera epidemic that first appeared on the island four years ago. The lawsuit, filed last year, argues that United Nations peacekeepers in Haiti were responsible for introducing the disease through sewage contamination from their barracks after the earthquake that devastated Haiti in 2010. The epidemic has killed more than 8,000 people. Oral arguments are scheduled to be made Oct. 23 at the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York. Lawyers for the advocates who sued said the arguments would address jurisdictional questions, including whether the United Nations can claim immunity from prosecution.