大象传媒

The cholera epidemic began in Haiti near a camp for UN soldiers where there were leaking sewage pipes. Some human waste was also dumped outside the camp near a river. One of the UN's own experts on cholera, Danielle Lantagne, told the 大象传媒 it was "most likely" the disease originated in the UN camp. It housed UN soldiers from Nepal, where cholera is endemic.

The UN rejected an earlier call for compensation in this unprecedented case against the world body, saying it was immune from such claims. But the victims' lawyers say the UN is breaking international law. If mediation talks don't begin within 60 days, the lawyers say, they'll open legal proceedings in New York with claims totalling many billions of dollars.

The lawyers say they'll file claims for $100,000 for the families of those who have lost a loved one and $50,000 for every one of the hundreds of thousands of people who have fallen sick. The UN has said very little on the matter, apart from to insist it is immune from legal proceedings. At the same time, it may also be true that the United Nations simply doesn't know what to do in the face of what could have been a series of catastrophic and deadly errors. In private, UN officials say they're facing a moral crisis. Now they may be about to confront a very public legal battle as well.