Haiti vows wide-ranging probe in Oxfam’s wake
OXFAM hid information about sexual misconduct from authorities in Haiti, a senior official in the Caribbean nation said on Monday, and he vowed to launch a wide-reaching investigation into charities operating there. Oxfam officials met Haiti’s planning and external cooperation minister, Aviol Fleurant, in Port-au-Prince on Monday to hand over a copy of a 2011 internal report which states that the British charity’s former Haiti country director had admitted to using prostitutes during a relief mission following a devastating earthquake that hit the Caribbean island nation in early 2010.
PORT-AU-PRINCE — Oxfam hid information about sexual misconduct from authorities in Haiti, a senior official in the Caribbean nation said on Monday, and he vowed to launch a wide-reaching investigation into charities operating there.
Oxfam officials met Haiti’s planning and external cooperation minister, Aviol Fleurant, in Port- au- Prince on Monday to hand over a copy of a 2011 internal report which states that the British charity’s former Haiti country director had admitted to using prostitutes during a relief mission following a devastating earthquake that hit the Caribbean island nation in early 2010.
It was the first meeting between Oxfam, one of the world’s biggest disaster relief charities, and the government in Haiti since a recent Times of London report that said some of Oxfam’s staff paid for sex, triggering a scandal that has seriously damaged the charity’s reputation in the UK and abroad.
“What hurt me at the end of the meeting is that they admitted that Haitian authorities had, at no time, been informed by Oxfam about the commission of such crimes,” Mr. Fleurant told Reuters in an interview.
“According to the law, someone who is aware of the perpetration of a crime is obliged to alert the nearest authorities,” the minister said.
Prostitution is illegal in Haiti. The minister also said he was looking into reports, denied by Oxfam, that one of the women was under age.
Former Judge Claudy Gassant said that under Haitian law it could be considered illegal to not report a crime to relevant authorities.
After the meeting, Simon Ticehurst, Oxfam International’s director general for Latin America and the Caribbean, said he apologized to Haiti’s government and people for what happened, and said the organization was willing to collaborate “as much as we can” in further investigations.
“We came here to share the report with the minister and express our shame and apologies to the Haitian government and to the Haitian people,” said Mr. Ticehurst.
“We’ve taken lots of measures to improve internal safeguarding measures,” he said following a more than two- hour meeting with Haiti’s Mr. Fleurant, who had summoned the charity to explain itself.
WIDE INVESTIGATION
Oxfam’s 2011 report, compiled in the year after aid workers were deployed to Haiti, revealed that seven staff were accused of using prostitutes at an Oxfam-funded residence.
Country Director Roland van Hauwermeiren admitted paying for sex and was offered a “phased and dignified exit” if he cooperated with the inquiry.
“We have given, as best as we can, explanations as to what happened in 2011,” Mr. Ticehurst said.
Mr. Fleurant said the government wanted all charities operating in Haiti to reveal more about sexual misconduct by their missions in the country.
“An investigation has been launched into the functioning of all nongovernmental organizations, regarding sexual crimes and abuses,” he said, without giving more details.
Last week, Haitian President Jovenel Moise said sexual misconduct by staff of Oxfam was only the tip of an “iceberg” and called for investigations into Doctors Without Borders and other aid organizations which came to the country after the earthquake.
On Monday, Doctors Without Borders said it was unclear from Mr. Moise’s remarks what specific cases he was referring to, and said it was seeking to gain a better understanding of the Haitian’s government’s concerns.
Details of the scandal surfaced earlier this month and have engulfed Oxfam, drawing widespread condemnation and putting its funding at risk.
British Prime Minister Theresa May described the matter as “horrific,” adding that “it was far below the standards that we expect for the charities and the NGOs that we’re working with.”
“We will not work with anybody who does not meet the high standards that we set,” Ms. May added during a visit to a London school.
The charity has been suspended from bidding for new government funding until it undertakes reforms, and Oxfam Chief Executive Mark Goldring has been called to explain the scandal to British MPs in London on Tuesday alongside officials from Save the Children.
That charity faces its own problems over claims that a staff member drunkenly harassed a female colleague.
Last week, Oxfam unveiled an action plan to tackle sexual harassment and abuse, including creating a new vetting system for staff, and has urged victims to come forward with any new allegations.
The aid group has denied trying to cover up the allegations but admitted it could have been more open at the time, saying it was publishing the report “in recognition of the breach of trust that has been caused.” — Reuters and AFP