Document Type
Brief
Publication Date
6-2015
Abstract
Amici Curiae consist of twenty-four human rights organizations from the United States and around the world that are committed to the rule of law and respect for fundamental rights, including the essential requirement of accountability for wrongdoing. Amici are deeply concerned that thousands of innocent victims of the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti, which is widely acknowledged to have been caused by the United Nations and the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (“MINUSTAH”), have received no redress for their suffering and injuries. This cholera epidemic compounded the profound suffering already experienced by the Haitian people as a result of the massive earthquake that destroyed much of the country on January 12, 2010. Amici are equally concerned with the decision of the district court which effectively grants the United Nations impunity for its wrongful actions. Impunity is contrary to the entire architecture of international law, including human rights law, to which the United Nations is inextricably bound. As such, the district court’s decision incorrectly interprets the governing treaty provisions in this case and inappropriately absolves the United Nations from its firm duty to prevent the arbitrary deprivation of life and provide remediation for its own wrongdoing. Amici write to provide the Court with an understanding of the governing international law principles that constrain the U.N.’s entitlement to immunity in this case.
Recommended Citation
Brief of Amici Curiae Human Rights Organizations in Support of Plaintiffs-Appellants, Georges v. United Nations, Docket No. 15-00455 (Second Circuit 2015)