CGL wins D.C. Circuit appeal, denying immunity to Pan American Health Organization for human trafficking of Cuban doctors.
The 3-0 decision marks the first time a federal appellate court has ever held that an international organization’s immunity in U.S. Courts cannot not cover commercial acts related to forced labor. The panel upheld CGL’s position that knowingly benefitting from participation in a forced labor venture is itself a wrongful act.
The doctors’ claims under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act will now proceed. They allege that from 2013 to 2018, PAHO kept $75 million of their wages and served as a financial intermediary to enable Cuba to traffic thousands of medical personnel to forced work programs in Brazil.
For more information, contact Peter Gil-Montllor at (202) 789-3960 or pgil-montllor@cuneolaw.com