U.S., U.K., Other Donors Oppose U.N. Request To Reprogram Peacekeeping Funds To Address Cholera In Haiti

The Guardian: ‘Shameful’: U.K. and U.S. under fire over blocked funds for Haiti cholera victims
“Human rights lawyers have accused the U.K. and other large donors of blocking the release of a multimillion-dollar U.N. fund to provide relief to victims of a cholera epidemic that has killed 10,000 people in Haiti. … In June, the U.N. secretary general, António Guterres, asked member states to allow him to repurpose $40.5m (£30m) of leftover money to the Haiti cholera fund, which he said could have an ‘immediate impact in saving lives’. The appeal to reallocate unspent money designated for Haiti in 2015-16 has met with strong resistance from major donors. None of the five U.N. security council’s permanent members, which includes the U.S. and the U.K., approved the proposed funding reallocation…” (McVeigh, 11/2).

Miami Herald: On eve of high-level U.N. Haiti visit, Trump continues to say ‘No’ to cholera request
“Earlier this fall, as the United Nations’ blue-helmet peacekeepers began their withdrawal from Haiti, many of their countries rushed to the beleaguered nation’s aid, turning over millions of dollars in unspent peacekeeping dollars to help eliminate a deadly cholera epidemic. … But the United States, which had already stated its opposition to U.N. Secretary General António Guterres’ request over reassigning $11 million in unspent Haiti peacekeeping money, is refusing even though the Senate Appropriations Committee gave it the green light in September. The Senate provision allows the Trump administration to use the unspent peacekeeping dollars for Haiti’s cholera plan. … In June, Michele Sison, the U.S. deputy permanent representative to the United Nations — and Trump’s nominee for U.S. ambassador to Haiti — told Guterres during a public hearing that while the U.S. supports the request ‘in principle,’ it was ‘not in a position to contribute in this way’…” (Charles, 11/2).

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