US judge wavers on UN immunity in Haiti cholera case

Dozens of Haitians braved driving rain outside the Manhattan courtroom to call for the UN to be stripped of its immunity so that thousands of plaintiffs who lost family members to the devastating cholera outbreak can proceed in their suit against the organisation.

More than 8,500 people were killed and 700,000 sickened after human waste, allegedly from a UN peacekeeping base, leaked into a central Haitian river.

Federal Judge Paul Oetken presided over the hearing, which reviewed the technical interpretations of a 1946 convention which has so far been understood to offer the UN immunity in the case.

Attorney Beatrice Lindstrom argued that the UN had forfeited its right to immunity by refusing the right to out-of-court settlements under section 29 of the Convention on the Privileges and Immunities of the United Nations.

“The US is arguing that the UN has absolute immunity from suits unless it is expressly waived, but that’s just not an issue in this particular case, “Lindstrom told FRANCE 24 outside the courtroom. “This case is about whether the UN can essentially operate with immunity when it has refused to provide any kind of remedies to the victims. The principles of basic rights to justice demand that victims are able to come to court here because it is the last resort that they have to seek justice.”

But Judge Oetken, who surprised those involved in the case by agreeing to hear the two sides after a year of impasse, warned of a “steep hill” for Lindstrom and the plaintiffs. Oetken said that US courts were reluctant to proceed with lawsuits when United Nations immunity was asserted.

'UN has double standards'

Assistant US Attorney Ellen Blain, who said she appeared in court because the United States has obligations as the UN’s host nation, argued that letting the case proceed would subject the United Nations to many more lawsuits from around the world. A UN representative was not present at the hearing.

“It’s antithetical to the United Nations’ ability to carry out its mission around the world,” Blain said in the courtroom. Blain was not available for comment after the hearing.

The Haitian lawyer representing the plaintiffs in the case, Mario Joseph, told FRANCE 24 that allowing the UN immunity would show “discrimination” on the part of the UN. “Imagine if cholera was brought to the United States by Nepalese soldiers. Imagine then how the UN would have dealt with it. Here it’s really clear that the UN has double standards,” he said.

Oetken said he will rule later on whether the UN can be considered a defendant and have to respond to the suit.

A separate suit of 2,600 plaintiffs has also been filed in the New York borough of Brooklyn, which is home to one of Haiti’s largest expatriate populations.

The United Nations has stringently declined to comment on the cases. When questioned on the UN’s role in the cholera epidemic by FRANCE 24 in July, former head of the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH), Edmond Mulet, denied that there was any proof linking the Nepalese UN peacekeepers to the outbreak, despite several epidemiological reports proving otherwise.