Court Hears Arguments Over U.N.’s Claim Of ‘Absolute Immunity’ In Haiti Cholera Lawsuit

News outlets report on a lawsuit filed against the United Nations by a group of Haitians who are seeking compensation from the organization after U.N. peacekeepers allegedly caused a cholera outbreak in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.

Associated Press: Haitians’ lawyer asks N.Y. judge to nix U.N. immunity
“An attorney for Haitians seeking compensation from the United Nations for victims of a deadly cholera outbreak asked a judge Thursday to set aside the U.N.’s immunity and let a lawsuit proceed, but a U.S. lawyer said doing so would open up the United Nations to many more lawsuits…” (Neumeister, 10/23).

Bloomberg News: U.N. Claims Immunity From Haiti Post-Quake Cholera Lawsuit
“The United Nations can’t be sued for a cholera outbreak in Haiti because the organization has ‘absolute immunity’ from such claims, a lawyer for the U.S. said, urging a judge to throw out a lawsuit. A group of Haitians and Haitian-Americans earlier this month sued the U.N. and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon for negligence, claiming the outbreak that killed more than 8,000 people was caused by U.N. peacekeepers sent to the Caribbean nation after an earthquake in 2010…” (Hurtado, 10/23).

New York Times: Hearing in Haitians’ Cholera Case
“A federal judge in Manhattan heard arguments on Thursday in the first court proceeding over Haitian cholera victims’ lawsuit against the United Nations. They contend that infected peacekeepers were responsible for the outbreak, which has killed more than 8,000 people since 2010…” (Gladstone, 10/23).

Reuters: U.S. urges judge to dismiss cholera lawsuit against United Nations
“The U.S. government urged a federal judge on Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit filed against the United Nations by a group of Haitians who claim peacekeepers caused the devastating cholera epidemic that followed their country’s 2010 earthquake…” (Ax, 10/23).

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