Global list of charity sex predators to be launched

Britain is to pioneer a worldwide register of suspected sexual predators working in the aid sector, the international development secretary will announce this week.

The database of suspects is part of the ‘‘concerted global effort’’ to clean up the charity world after exposure of sexual misconduct by Oxfam workers in Haiti.

The project, which will be kickstarted with £2 million (NZ$4m) of British aid cash, will harness Interpol’s green-notice system, which issues international alerts over those ‘‘considered to be a threat to public safety’’.

Penny Mordaunt will give details of the programme, named Soteria after the Greek goddess of protection, when she opens an international safeguarding meeting in London.

Soteria aims to be a ‘‘one-stop shop’’ for non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to check the past records of present and potential employees and will operate from two hubs, one in Africa and one in Asia. NGOs will also be able to upload information to the register through a secure online portal.

The London aid meeting is also expected to hear proposals for an ombudsman to investigate abuse cases.

Mordaunt said that the summit would herald a ‘‘culture change’’ across the sector, brought about by the Oxfam scandal.

The charity covered up sex abuse in Haiti and failed to alert other NGOs about individuals – including the charity’s country director – suspected of sexually exploiting victims of the 2010 earthquake.

‘‘The most shocking thing [about the Oxfam scandal] was the inadequacy of that organisation’s response – the utter lack of moral compass as to what the right course of action was towards the victims and in allowing someone who shouldn’t have been in a position of authority to transfer to other organisations,’’ Mordaunt said.

‘‘The attitude and the culture set by the leaders of that organisation at the time demanded a big response and that response had to be wider than one organisation because this is a global problem. What you saw in Haiti was a complete abuse of power and that cannot happen again.’’ –

Canada