On
Haiti, UN
Won't Comment
on
Peacekeepers'
Private
Violence or
Cholera
Claim
By
Matthew
Russell Lee
UNITED
NATIONS,
September 28
-- General
Debate week at
the UN has
been full
of
self-congratulation
for many of
the UN's
missions "in
the
field."
But in Haiti,
for example,
UN peacekeeper
stand accused
of "private
violence"
against
civilians and
more generally
of introducing
cholera to the
Island. And
the UN dodges
comments on
and
accountability
for both of
these.
On
September 27,
Inner City
Press asked
Secretary
General Ban
Ki-moon's
spokesman
Martin Nesirky
two questions
about Haiti.
(A third
question,
about how a
Rwandan UN
police officer
in Haiti was
killed
by a gunshot
to the head,
remains
unanswered.) From
the
transcript:
Inner
City Press:
the UN
peacekeepers
from Uruguay
that were
charged with
abusing a boy
there have now
been changed
to something
called private
violence in
Uruguay, and I
am wondering,
does the UN
think that’s
appropriate?
Is that
consistent
with zero
tolerance? Do
they feel
that the case
is being
handled in an
appropriate
way?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
This is a
matter for the
authorities in
Uruguay, for
their
justice
system. And
that is the
case with all
troop-contributing
countries;
that the
responsibility
rests with the
contributing
country when
there have
been
allegations
and when
charges are
placed. So I
think we need
to see how
that plays out
in full before
any
further
comment.
Apparently
so:
the UN's
read-out of
the next day's
meeting
between Ban
Ki-moon
and Luis
Almagro,
Uruguay's
Minister for
Foreign
Affairs said
"They
discussed a
broad range of
issues,
including the
implementation
of
the
“Delivering as
One" programme
in Uruguay,
the issue of
drug control
and regional
developments,
as well as
Uruguay’s
presidency of
the Human
Rights Council
and its
participation
in UN
peacekeeping
operations."
What
kind
of
participation?
The UN has
similarly been
dodging
comment on or
response to a
legal claim
filed about
introducing
cholera into
Haiti.
Inner City
Press asked:
Inner
City Press:
the Prime
Minister, Mr.
[Laurent]
Lamothe, has
said that
the cholera
outbreak is
"under
control," and
that when he
met with Ban
Ki-moon, the
topic of how
the cholera
came in didn’t
come up. Is it
the UN’s
assessment
that cholera
is now under
control and
did the
Secretary-General
have any
renewed
thoughts, is
there any
progress on
the claim that
was filed with
the [Office]
of
Legal Affairs
here about how
the cholera
was
introduced?
Spokesperson
Nesirky:
The readout
that we
provided on
the meeting
explains what
was discussed,
and the focus
was precisely
on helping to
ensure that
there is
better
sanitation,
helping to
ensure that
those people
who
are still
being
afflicted and
struck down
with cholera
get the
assistance
they require,
and
particularly
looking
further
forward to
vaccination
programmes to
help ensure
that you can
slow down and
eventually,
hopefully
arrest the
advance of
cholera. So
that was
where the
focus was,
quite
properly, in
that meeting,
and it is
indeed the
focus of the
United Nations
on the ground
in Haiti. And
I
think as
you’ve heard
similarly for
the Haitian
authorities
working
very closely
with the
United Nations
there. Other
questions,
please?
There
are other
questions,
yes. But
answers will
continued to
be pursued to
these. Watch
this site.
, 
