Victims of Haiti cholera outbreak sue UN for billions after 'sewage from infected Nepalese peacekeepers was discharged into water system'

Victims of the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti are suing the United Nations for billions of dollars in damages over claims it was triggered when sewage from infected peacekeepers was discharged into the water system.

Human rights lawyers claim the epidemic, which has killed around 8,300 people and made more than 650,000 ill, came from contaminated waste from a UN barracks.

Scientific studies have shown that the disease was likely introduced to the country by troops from Nepal, where the cholera is endemic.

Forensic test linked the spread to a flawed sanitation system at the base, which contaminated a tributary that feeds Haiti’s largest river, which is used by Haitians for drinking and bathing.

The decision to file the lawsuit at a New York court comes after the UN said earlier this year that it would not pay compensation and insisted that it was immune from such claims.

However, a UN official yesterday made a rare case for compensation for the victims. Full story...

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