联合国秘书长潘基文星期四向海地人民道歉。六年前联合国维和部队被指责造成了海地霍乱的爆发。
潘基文在一次联合国成员国非正式会议上说：“我代表联合国，非常明确地表明，我们向海地人民道歉。” 他说：“我们没有尽力避免霍乱爆发和传播。我们对此深表歉意。”
这是潘基文迄今最直接的一次道歉，不过他没有承认是联合国维和部队把这种可能致命的疾病带到了海地。潘基文说：“这给联合国和海地人民的关系蒙上了阴影。这是联合国维和部队和联合国在全世界声望的污点。”
很多人相信，一名感染霍乱的尼泊尔籍的维和部队成员2010年被派遣到海地进行地震救援的时候，污染了海地的阿蒂博尼特河流。这条河是数以万计海地人的主要水源。后来霍乱传播造成9千人死亡，80万人患病。一些受害者要求赔偿，他们在美国的法庭向联合国提出控告，但是法庭裁决联合国享受外交豁免。
联合国星期四公布了一份16页的报告，阐述了应对海地霍乱的双轨道“新方式”，并提出初步投入4亿美元。
U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon apologized to the people of Haiti on Thursday, more than six years after U.N. peacekeepers were blamed for causing a deadly cholera epidemic on the island nation.
“On behalf of the United Nations, I want to say very clearly: we apologize to the Haitian people,” Ban told an informal meeting of U.N. member states. “We simply did not do enough with regard to the cholera outbreak and its spread in Haiti. We are profoundly sorry for our role,” he added.
Ban's apology, his most direct to date, fell short of admitting that U.N. peacekeepers brought the potentially fatal illness to Haiti. “This has cast a shadow upon the relationship between the United Nations and the people of Haiti,” he said. “It is a blemish on the reputation of U.N. peacekeeping and the organization worldwide.”
It is widely accepted that Nepalese peacekeepers who were sent to assist Haiti in its recovery after the devastating 2010 earthquake, contaminated a branch of the Artibonite River with cholera. The river is the country's main water source for tens of thousands of Haitians. Subsequently more than 9,000 people died of the disease, and some 800,000 were sickened. Some of the victims sought compensation, suing the United Nations in U.S. District court, but the court ruled that the international organization is protected by diplomatic immunity.
The United Nations released a 16-page report on Thursday which details a two-track “new approach” to cholera in Haiti. It calls for $400 million in initial funding.
