U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, who for six years stonewalled Haitians’ claims that poor sanitation practices of U.N.-supervised troops stationed in Haiti after the devastating 2010 earthquake caused a cholera epidemic that has left 10,000 dead and 800,000 infected, now admits responsibility. But not total responsibility—as an official statement released Aug. 19 suggests.
Veteran journalist and documentarian Kim Ives, editor of Haïti Liberté and Leid Stories correspondent on Haiti, discusses Ban Ki-moon’s stonewalling on this critical matter and the impact it continues to have on Haiti and the Haitian diaspora.
The U.N.’s six-year negation of responsibility did not go unchallenged. Brian Concannon and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti, which he directs, are among a small but formidable coalition pushing hard for legal redress for Haiti’s cholera victims under international law. He discusses that ongoing effort and what happens now, with the U.N.’s admission of responsibility.