Editing Peacekeeping (section)

===Peacekeepers and the Haiti cholera crisis===
Significant scientific evidence, first reported by the [[Associated Press]],<ref>{{cite web|last=Katz |first=Jonathan M. |url=http://seattletimes.com/html/health/2013276274_apcbhaitidiseaseoutbreak.html |title=Nation & World &#124; UN probes base as source of Haiti cholera outbreak &#124; Seattle Times Newspaper |publisher=Seattletimes.com |date=October 27, 2010 |access-date=July 28, 2013}}</ref> and later the ''[[New York Times]]'',<ref>[https://www.nytimes.com/2012/04/01/world/americas/haitis-cholera-outraced-the-experts-and-tainted-the-un.html?pagewanted=all In Haiti, Global Failures on a Cholera Epidemic; In-depth New York Times piece investigating UN role in introducing cholera] ''[[New York Times]]'', March 31, 2012, accessed July 30, 2012</ref> ''[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]'',<ref>[http://www.aljazeera.com/video/americas/2012/03/201237194798262.html UN likely to blame for Haiti Cholera Outbreak] ''[[Al Jazeera Arabic|Al Jazeera]]'', March 7, 2012, accessed July 30, 2012</ref> and [[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]<ref>[https://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/scientists-soldiers-brought-deadly-superbug-americas/story?id=15341129 Scientists: UN Soldiers Brought Deadly Superbug to Americas] ''[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]]'', January 12, 2012, accessed July 30, 2012</ref> has shown that Nepalese peacekeeping troops stationed at a remote base in [[Mirebalais]], [[Haiti]], triggered a deadly cholera epidemic that has ravaged the country since October 2010. [[Cholera]] is a waterborne disease that causes diarrhoea and vomiting, and it can kill in a matter of hours if patients do not receive rehydration intervention. As of July 2012, Haiti's cholera epidemic was the worst in the world:<ref>[https://www.cdc.gov/haiticholera/haiti_cholera.htm Haiti Cholera: One Year Later], [[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention]] October 25, 2011, accessed July 30, 2012</ref> about 7,500 had died and about 585,000 Haitians (about 1 in every 20 Haitians) had become ill with the disease.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mspp.gouv.ht/site/downloads/Rapport%20journalier%20MSPP%20du%2022%20juillet%202012.pdf|title=Haitian Ministry of Public Health and Population Cholera Report of July 22, 2012, 22 July 2011, accessed 30 July 2012}}</ref>

According to the UN-appointed Independent Panel of Experts on the Cholera Outbreak in Haiti, the conditions at the peacekeeping base were unsafe, and allowed contamination of Haiti's river systems in at least two ways: "The construction of the water pipes in the main toilet/showering area [was] haphazard, with significant potential for cross-contamination...especially from pipes that run over an open drainage ditch that runs throughout the camp and flows directly into the Meye Tributary System".<ref name="UNCholeraReport">{{cite web|url=https://www.un.org/News/dh/infocus/haiti/UN-cholera-report-final.pdf|title=Final Report of the Independent Panel of Experts on the Cholera Outbreak in Haiti, pages 21-22, July 2011, accessed 30 July 2012}}</ref> Additionally, the panel reported that on a regular basis black water waste from the Mirebalais base and two other bases was deposited in an open, unfenced septic pit that was susceptible to flooding and would overflow into the Meye Tributary during rainfall.<ref name="UNCholeraReport" />

In November 2011, over 5,000 victims of the cholera epidemic filed a claim with the UN's internal claims mechanism seeking redress in the form of clean water and sanitation infrastructure necessary to control the epidemic, compensation for individual losses, and an apology.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-15648110|title=Haiti cholera demand against UN|date=November 9, 2011|work=BBC News}}</ref> In July 2012, 104 members of the [[U.S. Congress|United States Congress]] signed a letter affirming that the "actions of the UN" had brought cholera to Haiti and that the UN should "confront and ultimately eliminate cholera".<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-18928405|title=Haiti cholera 'UN responsibility'|first=Mark|last=Doyle|date=July 20, 2012|work=BBC News}}</ref> In 2013 the UN rejected the claim and the victims' lawyers have pledged to sue the UN in court.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ijdh.org/cholera-litigation/ |title=Institute for Justice and Democracy in Haiti: Cholera Litigation |publisher=Ijdh.org |date=October 21, 2010 |access-date=July 28, 2013}}</ref>