The Institute for International Law and Justice, the Center for Human Rights and Global Justice, and the Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) organized an event on the Cholera epidemic in Haiti and questions of UN accountability and prevention.

Cholera broke out in Haiti in 2010 for the first time in the country’s recorded history and has killed over 8,200 people to date. The source of the outbreak has been attributed to reckless waste management practices on a UN peacekeeping base, but the UN has refused to accept responsibility. The situation raises critical questions in emerging areas of international law, including the responsibility of international organizations, best practices in UN peacekeeping and access to justice through international accountability mechanisms.

The Institute for Justice & Democracy in Haiti (IJDH) is a non-profit organization that works with people of Haiti in their non-violent struggle for justice and human rights. Together with its sister-organization in Haiti, the Bureau des Avocats Internationaux (BAI), IJDH represents victims of cholera in their fight for justice from the UN and is preparing to file a groundbreaking lawsuit that will seek to hold the UN accountable for cholera in US court.