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RIGHTS

Mandates of the Special Rapporteur on adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate
standard of living, and on the right to non-discrimination in this context; the Special Rapporteur on
extreme poverty and human rights; the Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti;
the Special Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard
of physical and mental health; and the Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking water
and sanitation
REFERENCE: OL
OTH 7/2015:

23 October 2015
Excellency,
We have the honour to address you in our capacities as Special Rapporteur on
adequate housing as a component of the right to an adequate standard of living, and on
the right to non-discrimination in this context; Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty
and human rights; Independent Expert on the situation of human rights in Haiti; Special
Rapporteur on the right of everyone to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of
physical and mental health; and Special Rapporteur on the human right to safe drinking
water and sanitation pursuant to Human Rights Council resolutions 25/17, 26/3, 24/6,
24/18, and PRST/28/3. We would like to take this opportunity to respond to the letter
dated 25 November 2014 addressed by Mr. Pedro Medrano, Assistant Secretary-General
Pedro, Senior Coordinator for the Cholera Response in Haiti, in reply to the joint
communication dated 25 September 2014. We are writing to you now on the fifth
anniversary of the outbreak of cholera.

We welcome the clarification provided in the letter, in particular the details of the
measures the United Nations has taken in response to the cholera outbreak in Haiti, and
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epidemic. We especially appreciate the acknowledgement in para. 57 of the letter of the
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operate within the normative framework of international human rights law and are held
accountable for alleged violations.·
We note, however, that the cholera crisis continues in Haiti, that there has been a
leap in new cases reported in 2015, and that the response to date in terms of efforts to
fully eradicate cholera, to ensure safe water and adequate sanitation provision, and to
mobilize sufficient funding for these purposes, appears to be clearly insufficient.
Our particular concern relates to the inability of the victims of the cholera
outbreak to vindicate their rights and to obtain access to a remedy for the harms suffered