Click here for news story (approximately 2 pages); click here for complaint (approximately 67 pages)

Advocates for victims of the 2010 Haitian cholera outbreak have initiated class-action litigation against the United Nations, claiming that the organization is responsible for the epidemic that has killed over 8,300 and sickened over 650,000 Haitians. A complaint filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York by lawyers from the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti alleges that the “reckless, negligent, and tortious behavior” of the UN contributed directly to the deadly outbreak. The complaint specifically cites the UN’s employment of Nepalese peacekeepers infected with cholera and the use of a faulty sanitation system at the Nepalese peacekeeper base as evidence of the UN’s responsibility. Plaintiffs seek declaratory relief, as well as actual, injunctive, compensatory, and punitive damages.