10 Years On: Lessons from the Cholera Epidemic in Haiti

Register on Zoom for Lessons from the Cholera Epidemic at this link.

October 2020 marks the 10-year anniversary of UN peacekeepers’ introduction of cholera to Haiti. The resulting epidemic has killed over 10,000 people and caused immeasurable losses in Haiti. The UN’s reluctance to accept responsibility and to remedy affected communities has also tested the organization’s commitment to human rights and spurred strong criticisms from inside and outside of the organization. This event brings together UN officials and Haiti advocates to examine what lessons the UN should draw from the cholera epidemic. Panelists will discuss how the cholera experience has changed the UN, and how the organization still needs to change, in order to prevent future harms and ensure that it is accountable to the people it serves.

Panelists include:

• Philip Alston, Former UN Special Rapporteur on Extreme Poverty & Human Rights
• Andrew Gilmour, Former UN Assistant Secretary-General for Human Rights
• Mario Joseph, Managing Attorney, Bureau des Avocats Internationaux
• Josette Sheeran, UN Special Envoy for Haiti
• Inobert Pierre, MD, Director General, Health Equity International
• Dr. Marie Marcelle Deschamps, GHESKIO

This event is part of Harvard Worldwide Week. It is organized by the Human Rights Program at Harvard Law School and co-sponsored by the Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, the Center for Global Health at Massachusetts General Hospital, the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy, the FXB Center for Health & Human Rights, the Edmond J. Safra Center for Ethics at Harvard, and HLS Advocates for Human Rights.