UN to set up fund to help Kosovo displaced poisoned at UN camps

UNITED NATIONS, United States: The United Nations have expressed regret after hundreds of displaced people in Kosovo were exposed to lead poisoning in UN-run camps and said it will establish a trust fund to help them.

The announcement followed a report by a human rights panel on complaints from 138 ethnic Roma, Askhali and Egyptians who suffered from health problems after they were relocated to the UN camps in northern Kosovo following the 1998-1999 war.

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres “wishes to express the organisation's profound regret for the suffering endured by all individuals living in the IDP (internally displaced persons)camps,” said UN spokesman Farhan Haq.

“In view of the unique circumstances in Kosovo, the secretary-general has decided, as an exceptional measure, to establish a trust fund,” he said.

No figure was announced for the fund that will finance community projects in those areas of Kosovo affected by the lead poisoning: north Mitrovica, south Mitrovica and Leposaviae.

The decision was condemned by Human Rights Watch which said the United Nations was refusing to take responsibility for the harm it had caused to the displaced in Kosovo.

“By creating an unfunded trust fund for community assistance projects, instead of individual compensation for victims of its own negligence, the UN is selling the victims of lead poisoning at its camps in Kosovo short,” said Louis Charbonneau, HRW's UN director.

“Dodging responsibility for the suffering of lead poisoning victims only serves to undercut attempts to make the UN more accountable for its own failures.” — AFP