UK warns charities to come clean on abuse

LONDON — Britain will stop funding overseas aid agencies if they fail to learn the lessons from Oxfam’s sex abuse scandal, and the government will discuss possible prosecutions with law enforcement, the British development minister said on Wednesday.

Penny Mordaunt told anti-poverty groups that Britain — one of the world’s most generous foreign development donors — would cut funding if they could not show they were clear of the kind of abuse that has rocked Oxfam.

The Times newspaper reported on Friday that some Oxfam staff paid for sex with prostitutes in Haiti after the country’s 2010 earthquake. Oxfam has neither confirmed nor denied that specific account but has said an internal investigation in 2011 confirmed sexual misconduct occurred and it has apologised.

“Unless you safeguard everyone your organisation comes into contact with, including beneficiaries, staff and volunteers, we will not fund you,” Mordaunt told a conference attended by representatives of development agencies in Stockholm. “Unless you create a culture that prioritises the safety of vulnerable people and ensures victims and whistleblowers can come forward without fear, we will not work with you,” she said.

“And unless you report every serious incident or allegation, no matter how damaging to your reputation, we cannot be partners.”

Mordaunt said she was due to meet the head of Britain’s National Crime Agency on Thursday. The NCA has led investigations which led to the jailing of British citizens for sex crimes committed abroad.

“While investigations have to be completed and any potential criminals prosecuted accordingly, what is clear is that the culture that allowed this to happen needs to change. And it needs to change now,” she said.

A spokeswoman said Mordaunt would discuss how her office and the NCA could work to implement laws on sexual exploitation and abuse, but added that the meeting did not relate specifically to criminal activity involving Oxfam staff.

Haiti’s minister of planning and external cooperation, Aviol Fleurant, said he had summoned Oxfam representatives to a meeting to discuss “serious sexual crimes.” —