With
Haiti Cholera
Victims At
UN's Gate, ICP Asks of
Accountability
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
October 14
-- Five
years after
the UN brought
cholera to
Haiti, and on
the morning
the UN
Security
Council is
poised to
renew its
MINUSTAH
mission's
mandate
without taking
any
responsibility
for cholera,
the portraits
of the
diseases (and
the UN's)
victims were
placed outside
the UN's 43rd
Street
entrance.
Inner
City Press
tweeted a
photograph,
witnessed the
Security
Council
extending the
mandate of its
MINUSTAH
mission in
Haiti 15-0
with no
comments
before or
after, then
went at noon
and asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric this:
Inner
City Press
I want to ask
about Haiti
and Central
African
Republic.
On Haiti, I'm
compelled to
ask you.
I'm sure you
saw the people
with the
portraits of
victims
outside.
I understand
it's taking
place outside
Geneva and
Port-au-Prince.
And I wanted
to ask you,
the number
they're using
is 9,000
people killed,
745,000 people
sickened by
cholera they
say the UN
brought
negligently to
their country
and there's
been no
accountability.
And I wanted
to know, now
that Mr.
[Pedro]
Medrano seems
to have been
decommissioned
and wasn't
replaced, what
is the UN's
response to…
to this sort
of being
called to task
for total lack
of
accountability
and families
left without
breadwinners,
etcetera?
Spokesman
Stephane
Duajrric:
I think on the
legal issues,
our stand has
not
changed.
Obviously, on
a more
personal
level, if you
let me speak,
I would refer
you to what
the
Secretary-General
said when he
met victims…
families of
victims of
cholera when
he went to
Haiti just
about a year
and a half
ago, I
believe, or
two years
ago. And
those feelings
still
stand.
The work that
Mr. Medrano
had done on
mobilizing
resources to
take… to help
support the
sanitation
system and
the… dealing…
and helping
Haiti deal
with the
aftermath of
cholera has
continued
under the
auspices of
the UN country
team. So
it's not as if
the UN is not
active on this
front.
Inner
City Press:
I guess my…
if… if on the
issue of
sexual abuse
and
exploitation
there's a move
towards
setting up a
trust fund to
compensate
victims?
In this case,
the families
that were
supported were
left with
nothing, so
I'm wondering,
has the UN
done anything
in that
regard?
Spokesman:
The UN country
team and Mr.
Medrano had
tried to raise
funds to deal
with the
aftermath of
the cholera.
Inner
City Press:
Only the water
issues.
Spokesman:
What's your
CAR question?
For the
record, the
CAR question
was and is
about
peacekeepers
raping
civilians.
On a daily
basis across
from the UN's
43rd Street
entrance
stands a
Haitian
journalist;
Inner City
Press'
requests to
the UN
including
former
spokesperson
Michele Montas
to get him
re-admitted
fell on the
UN's deaf
ears. Now he
wants to know
the
prospective
Haitian
military
force's size.
Ban Ki-moon
dodged service
of legal
papers; his
spokespeople
answer every
Press question
with the same
answer, “Our
position
hasn't
changed.”
Well, it
should. Now
Ban is
embroiled in a
corruption
scandal in
which business
interests from
Macau were
able to
purchase
revisions by
the
Secretariat in
official UN
documents. But
the UN's
Haitian
victims are
outside the
gate.
Joseph Dade
Guiwil, a
cholera
survivor whose
portrait is
featured at
the UN, said
in an
embargoed
statement,
“Every family
in my
community lost
something
because UN
peacekeepers
gave us
cholera. I say
to the UN:
give us
justice.”
The embargo
was broken by
Associated
Press. There
will be more
reporting, and
questions,
including in
connection
with the
mandate of UN
Peacekeeping's
Herve Ladsous'
MINUSTAH
mission -
which despite
repeated
requests
refuses to
send its press
releases, such
as they are,
to Inner City
Press. This is
today's UN.
We'll have
more on this.
When UN
envoy to Haiti
Sandra Honore
took questions
outside the UN
Security
Council on
October 8,
Inner City
Press asked
her about the
upcoming
electoral
run-off, the
high profile
resignation of
Nehemy Joseph,
and cholera. Video here.
Honore put the
best face she
could on the
elections, and
on Nehemy
Joseph's
resignation,
saying he
would be
replaced. She
did not
respond to
Inner City
Press'
question on
cholera, but
to her credit
did stay at
the stakeout
when Inner
City Press
asked what the
UN is doing
for and about
those being
ejected from
the Dominican
Republic.
Supporting the
Haitian
government,
was her
answer.
Back
on June 16
with mass
deportations
threatened
from the
Dominican
Republic to
Haiti, Inner
City Press
asked the UN,
who deputy
spokesperson
Farhan Haq
called it
"hypothetical."
A day later,
New York City
Mayor Bill de
Blasio issued
a statement of
concern about
the threatened
deportations.
On
June 18, Inner
City Press
again asked
the UN about
the
deportation
threat, and if
the UN might
follow Jose
Ramos Horta's
advise that it
compensate
victims of the
cholera it
brought to
Haiti:
Inner
City Press: On
Haiti I think
it's, I guess,
on Tuesday,
I'd asked you
about this
planned
repatriation
from the
Dominican
Republic.
And now that a
variety of…
the Mayor of
the City of
New York has
spoken on it
and most
poignantly the
President of
Haiti, Mr.
[Michel]
Martelly, had
said they
won’t accept
individuals
that were not
born in Haiti,
which would
stand to leave
a lot of
people
stateless;
meaning,
Haitians…
“Haitians that
were born in
Santa
Domingo”.
And I've also
read that UN
was attending
meetings
planning for
what was to
happen, so
what is the
UN's position
on this?
Deputy
Spokesman
Haq:
What I can say
on that is the
Dominican
Government has
given
assurances
that it will
apply due
process
standards on
an individual
basis and will
protect
individuals
against
unlawful
deportation.
The United
Nations urges
respect for
international
law and
humanitarian
principles.
In the event
of an increase
in the scale
of
deportations,
the United
Nations calls
for close
coordination
between the
Haitian and
Dominican
Governments to
ensure an
orderly and
transparent
process open
to observation
by the UN and
the
international
community.
The United
Nations
remains
commits to
resolve the
problems of
the people who
are deprived
of nationality
as a result of
the 2013
ruling of the
Dominican
Constitutional
Court.
Inner City
Press:
Thanks.
Also on Haiti,
I wanted… I
meant to ask
you this
yesterday, but
I'll ask
today, José
Ramos-Horta of
the panel in
this room on
Tuesday, on
cholera in
Haiti, said
that he said
he would
believe, you
know, I'm
going to
paraphrase
here, that the
UN should have
paid
compensation
and he brought
up as two
examples
peacekeepers
in
Timor-Leste,
upon knowing
that death had
been caused
inadvertently,
they just
offered to pay
one
individual,
paid his
salary over
his remaining
deployment
there. I
wanted to
know, given he
is a highly
respected
person to be
the head of
the panel, you
know, not as a
“gotcha”, but
is there some
response to
the approach,
the way that
he laid it
out, that
making victims
whole comes
before any
kind of legal
argumentation?
Deputy
Spokesman:
Basically, of
course, as
you're aware
well aware, he
is essentially
expressing his
personal
opinion on
this.
His panel's
work was not
on the
question of
Haiti.
We have heard,
as you know, a
wide range of
opinions over
the years and
have respected
a wide range
of views on
this.
The
Secretary-General
has tried as
hard as he can
to make sure
that the
situation of
cholera in
Haiti is
resolved.
As you have
seen from the
efforts of
Pedro Medrano,
what we are
trying to do
is coordinate
efforts with
the Government
of Haiti and
the
international
community to
see what can
be done to
bring this
cholera
epidemic to an
end. And
so, we will
continue with
those efforts
and we respect
the views of
people
around.
On the legal
question, our
position
remains as it
was.
What
is wrong with
this picture?
UN
official Herve
Ladsous, who
has openly
refused to
answer Inner
City Press
question and
was abetted
in this by
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesperson
in his last
press
conference,
used that to
brag about
ostensibly
declining
numbers of
sexual
exploitation
and abuse
complaints
against his UN
Peacekeeping:
51 worldwide
for a whole
year.
But now it
emerges that
in Haiti
alone, the UN
Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services
documented 225
women sexual
exploited by
Ladsous'
peacekeepers.
This is a
cover up;
Ladsous should
answer or go.
On June 10,
Inner City
Press asked UN
spokesperson
Stephane
Dujarric, video here, transcript
here:
Inner
City Press: I
want to ask
about sexual
abuse. I'm
sure you've
seen AP's
report on the
OIOS [Office
of Internal
Oversight
Services]
report on
sexual
exploitation
and abuse,
particularly
in MINUSTAH
[United
Nations
Stabilization
Mission] in
Haiti, saying
225 women
testified that
they were
exchange — you
know, asked by
peacekeepers
to exchange
sex for money
or food or
whatever.
So how do you
square this
with the
report made
here by the
Mr. [Hervé]
Ladsous that
only 51 cases
of sexual
exploitation
or abuse were
alleged
worldwide, 51
as opposed to
225 in one
country?
And what's
going to be
done to square
what seems to
be a dramatic
underreporting
by the UN?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
I think the —
first of all,
the report
that you
referred to in
the Associated
Press filing,
as far as my
understanding
is concerned,
it's still a
draft
report.
There's still
comments going
back and
forth, as
usually there
are between
the concerned
department and
OIOS. So
I'm not going
to go into
what's said in
the report.
Obviously,
the issue of
underreporting
is of
concern.
Every case
needs to be
looked
into.
Every case of
sexual abuse
needs to be
looked
into.
The
Secretary-General
is determined
to continue on
the
zero-tolerance
policy.
I think if you
look at the
special
measures
report that
was issued
earlier this
year, I think
it outlines a
number of
steps that
were
taken.
And obviously,
you know, all
sorts of
things are
looked at in
terms of
prohibited
conduct,
discouraged
conduct and
others.
So, you know,
the report's
still in draft
form. I
don't have any
information on
the specific
cases you
mentioned.
Inner
City
Press:
Maybe the
number will
somehow be
reduced, but
what I did
want to ask
you is, can
you say from
this podium
that
peacekeepers
requesting sex
in exchange
for money or
food does
constitute
sexual
exploitation
and abuse, for
the purposes
of this 51
figure that
was thrown out
in this room?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
Again, I'm not
go into
that. I
think if you
look at the
Secretary-General's
special
measures
report, I
think it
outlines those
things and it
answers your
question
This
resistance to
saying that
eacekeepers
requesting sex
in exchange
for money or
food does
constitute
sexual
exploitation
and abuse is
part of the
problem. We'll
have more on
this.
On
June 8, Inner
City Press
asked UN
Spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric first
about the
French forces'
non-inclusion
in Ban's
Children and
Armed Conflict
list, then
about the
whistleblowers,
video
here, transcript here:
Inner
City Press: it
seems like the
abuse the UN
was aware of
in the Central
African
Republic by
the French
Sangaris
forces, was
there any
consideration
of including
them and if
so, why not?
Spokesman
Dujarric:
On the CAR
[Central
African
Republic], the
situation in
the CAR, part
of the CAR was
drafted with
the
information
available at
the time of
the writing of
the
report.
As you know,
the… we do
hope to
announce soon
the external
independent
inquiry which
will shed
light on the
process.
Inner City
Press: I'm
sorry to
reiterate
this.
I'd sent you
these
questions but
wanted to ask
you. I
asked the
Office of High
Commissioner
for Human
Rights who
said that Mr.
Kompass is
going to be
extended,
although he
also said it's
not Geneva's
decision; it's
up to New
York.
And there are
several Member
State who
believe he's
not being
extended--
Spokesman:
No, I have no
indication
whatsoever
that his
contract will
not be
renewed.
Inner City
Press:
It does
apparently
expire in one
month.
Spokesman:
Right.
No, as I said,
I have no
indication
whatsoever
that his
contract will
not be
renewed.
Inner City
Press: ]OHCHR]
had said
something
about
contracts
being
automatically
extended if a
person is
under
investigation.
Is that your
understanding?
Spokesman:
I think that
is very likely
a policy but
as I said, for
Mr. Kompass, I
have no
indication
that his…
Inner City
Press: The
other thing I
asked you is
about Miranda
Brown who was
an… worked
with Mr.
Kompass and
has since been
terminated.
I know that
she wrote a
letter to the
Secretary-General
dated 23 May
saying she's
willing to
participate,
but not if
she's fired by
the UN and has
no
immunity.
Has the
Secretary-General’s
responded to
the letter?
Spokesman:
I don't
believe there
has been a
response.
I don't know
if it was
received.
I don't
believe she
was
terminated, I
think her
fixed-term
contract was
not renewed.
Inner City
Press: What
would you say
to those who
say if you
actually want
to know… this
was a person
who was number
two to Kompass
at the time
involved.
What
arrangements
were being
made to try to
get her
evidence?
Spokesman:
I think we
would have to
leave that to
the panel once
it's named.
As Inner
City Press
analyzed
below, there
is a history
of UN panels
being used to
cover up.
Now Code Blue
has these
three
recommendations:
"First, this
must be a
truly external
and
independent
inquiry.
No member of
existing UN
staff should
be appointed
to investigate
nor to act as
the
investigators’
secretariat.
"Second, it
must be
understood
that top
members of the
Secretary-General’s
own staff will
have to be
subject to
investigation.
This must go
right up to
the level of
Under-Secretaries
General. No
one can be
excluded,
whether the
Director of
the Ethics
Office or the
USG of the
Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services or
the
Secretary-General’s
own Chef de
Cabinet. It
would appear
that all of
them and more
acted
inappropriately
in response to
the dreadful
events in CAR.
"Third, the
reference in
the
Secretary-General’s
announcement
of a review to
‘the broad
range of
systemic
issues’ is
crucial to the
inquiry. What
happened in
the Central
African
Republic was
an atrocity,
but the fact
that the UN
stood silent
for nearly a
year after its
own discovery
of widespread
peacekeeper
sexual abuse
(even if by
non-UN troops)
is itself a
bitter
commentary on
the
Secretary-General’s
declared
policy of
‘zero
tolerance’."
Inner
City Press
would add,
past UN staff
and offiicals
as well.
Consider these
past panels,
as put
together and
at the end
analyzed by
Inner City
Press and the
Free
UN Coalition
for Access:
On 22
September
2003,
Secretary-General
Kofi Annan
appointed Mr.
Martti
Ahtisaari,
former
President of
Finland, to
chair an
Independent
Panel on the
Safety and
Security of UN
Personnel in
Iraq.
The priority
of the
Independent
Panel’s
investigation
of the
“oil-for-food”
programme was
to “get after”
allegations of
corruption and
misconduct
within the
United Nations
itself and,
more broadly,
the question
of the
maladministration
of the
“oil-for-food”
programme,
stated Paul A.
Volcker,
Chairman of
the
Independent
Panel, in a
press
conference at
UNHQ.
The UN
Commission of
Inquiry,
appointed by
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon at
the request of
the Pakistani
Government,
reached no
conclusion as
to the
organizers and
sponsors
behind the
attack in
which a
15-year-old
suicide bomber
blew up Ms.
Bhutto’s
vehicle in the
city of
Rawalpindi on
27 December
2007.
The
three-member
panel, which
was headed by
Chilean
Ambassador to
UN Heraldo
Muñoz and
included
Marzuki
Darusman,
former
attorney-general
of Indonesia,
and Peter
Fitzgerald, a
veteran
official of
the Irish
National
Police, urged
the Government
to undertake
police reform
in view of its
“deeply flawed
performance
and conduct.”
Secretary-General
Ban Ki-moon
established
the Panel of
Inquiry on the
31 May 2010
Flotilla
Incident on 2
August 2010.
The Panel
received and
reviewed
reports of the
detailed
national
investigations
conducted by
both Turkey
and Israel.
On 22 June
2010, the
Secretary-General
announced the
appointment of
a Panel of
Experts to
advise him on
the
implementation
of the joint
commitment
included in
the statement
issued by the
President of
Sri Lanka and
the
Secretary-General
at the
conclusion of
the
Secretary-General's
visit to Sri
Lanka on 23
March 2009.
Meanwhile
UN staff
advocates have
written to
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon, his
chief of staff
and Ladsous,
among others,
demanding
resignations.
On June 2
Inner City
Press asked UN
spokesman
Stephane
Dujarric, who
Banned any
Inner City
Press question
to Ladsous on
May 29, what
Ban Ki-moon
DID, once he
learned in
March about
the rapes. Video here and embedded below.
Dujarric
said he had
nothing to add
to his
previous
answers. Huh?
Inner
City Press
asked
Dujarric, in
light of OHCHR
Zeid using a
private email
address for UN
business, what
the UN's
record
retention
policy is.
Dujarric said
the policy
must be
available
somewhere. To
this has the
UN descended.
Dujarric said
the
investigation
by Lapointe's
OIOS,
discredited in
the leaked
emails, will
"lead where it
will lead."
But Lapointe
has told OIOS
invstigators
to not go
beyond what
they are asked
to look at --
in this case,
only the
whistleblower.
This is called
a cover up.
When Hillary
Clinton used
the UN
Security
Council
stakeout
to belatedly
answer
questions
about her own
use of private
email while US
Secretary of
State, it was
described as
an accident of
scheduling, or
attempt to use
the UNSC
backdrop to
convey
gravitas. But
the echo now
with Prince
Zeid also
using private
email for
presumably
public
business
raises similar
questions.
Anders
Kompass was
asked to send
his side of
the story --
to a private
email address,
but wisely
declined.
Beyond the
treatment of
Kompass
himself, the
documents show
pressure
brought to
bear on
lower-level
staff to make
and thereby
launder the
high
officials'
desire for an
investigation
of Kompass.
Most
directly, it
is asked, what
UN staff
member will
now report
fraud or
misconduct,
knowing that
OIOS and the
Ethics Office
will then
discuss the
accusations
with their
boss? This is
a question
Inner City
Press on
May 29 asked
UN Spokesman
Staphen
Dujarric, who
Banned
Inner City
Press from
putting a
single
question to
Ladsous - the
question has
yet to be
answered.
UN staff
advocates have
written
directly to
Ban Ki-moon
and his
deputy,
Ladsous and
Atul Khare and
others,
demanding
resignations.
They are
offended by
the exposure
of lack of
independence
at the UN
Office of
Internal
Oversight
Services and
UN Ethics
Office, and
question
whether the US
should cut off
funding under
the 2014 U.S.
Consolidated
Appropriation
Act, section
7048(a)(1)(B).
After reading
those leaked
documents, how
exactly can
the U.S.
Secretary of
State (or
anybody else)
certify that
the UN's
whistle-blower
policy fulfils
the Act's
requirements?
Is there any
"independent
adjudicative
body" in this
chain?
Evidently the
Ethics Office
and OIOS are
not."
The
staff notice
Ban's
appearance at
another
softball
soccer game,
among those
who are
supposed to
hold him and
the UN
accountable.
The call for
Ladsous to
resign out be
fired has
spread from
the African
Group to Latin
America and
GRULAC...
On May 7,
Inner City
Press asked
more questions
about this -
including to
Herve Ladsous
himself.
After a long
closed-door
consultation
meeting of the
Security
Council,
Ladsous
emerged. Inner
City Press
asked him,
based on
Paragraph 9 of
the UNDT
ruling, Why
did you ask
Kompass to
resign?"
, 
