U.N. says it needs to do 'much more' for Haiti cholera victims

UNITED NATIONS -- The United Nations said it needs to do "much more" to address its own involvement in the introduction of cholera to Haiti and the suffering of those affected, estimated at more than 770,000 people.

Researchers said there is ample evidence cholera was introduced to Haiti's biggest river in October 2010 by inadequately treated sewage from a U.N. peacekeeping base.

The United Nations never has accepted responsibility and has answered lawsuits on behalf of victims in U.S. courts by claiming diplomatic immunity.

U.N. deputy spokesman Farhan Haq's statement referring to the U.N.'s "own involvement," which was sent to The Associated Press on Thursday, came a step closer to an admission of at least some responsibility and was welcomed by lawyers for the victims.

"This is a major victory for the thousands of Haitians who have been marching for justice, writing to the U.N. and bringing the U.N. to court," said Mario Joseph, a Haitian human-rights attorney whose law firm is leading a high-profile claim on behalf of 5,000 cholera victims who blame the U.N. for introducing the disease.

"It is high time for the UN to make this right and prove to the world that 'human rights for all' means for Haitians, too," he said.

Haq said in the statement the United Nations has been considering a series of options, and "a significantly new set of U.N. actions" will be presented publicly within the next two months.

It first was reported by the New York Times.

Five U.N. human-rights experts criticized the United Nations in a letter to top U.N. officials late last year for its "effective denial of the fundamental right of the victims of cholera to justice."

At least one lawsuit was dismissed because of the U.N.'s diplomatic-immunity claim. But a U.S. federal appeals panel in New York is weighing whether the lawsuit Haitian lawyer Joseph is involved in can proceed, or whether the United Nations is entitled to immunity.

Haq reiterated Thursday the U.N.'s legal position in claiming diplomatic immunity "has not changed."

According to government figures, cholera has sickened more than 770,000 people, or about 7 percent of Haiti's population, and killed more than 9,200. As of March, it was killing an average of 37 people a month.

Haiti is the poorest country in the Western hemisphere, and only 24 percent of Haitians have access to a toilet. Sewage rarely is treated, and safe water remains inaccessible to many.

Researchers said cholera first was detected in the central Artibonite Valley and cited evidence it was introduced to Haiti's biggest river from a U.N. base where Nepalese troops were deployed as part of a peacekeeping operation that has been in the country since 2004. Cholera is endemic in Nepal.

In December 2012, U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon announced a $2.27 billion initiative to help eradicate cholera in Haiti and the neighboring Dominican Republic, which share the island of Hispaniola, but the ambitious 10-year plan is underfunded. According to a report last November, only $307 million has been received.