Tutu quits as ambassador for Oxfam after claims
SCANDAL: CHARITY REHIRED MAN SACKED OVER MISCONDUCT ALLEGATIONS
NOBEL PEACE Prize winner Desmond Tutu has said he will no longer be a global ambassador for Oxfam after allegations that senior staff members in crisis zones paid for sex among the desperate people the group was meant to serve.
A statement from the office of the South African emeritus archbishop said he was “deeply disappointed by allegations of immorality and possible criminality”.
The 86-year-old Mr Tutu rarely makes public statements because of health problems.
Actress Minnie Driver and Senegalese musician Baaba Maal have also quit as celebrity ambassadors for Oxfam following its response to a sex abuse scandal in Haiti after its 2010 earthquake.
The news came as it emerged one of the Oxfam workers sacked over sexual misconduct allegations in earthquakeshattered Haiti was later rehired by the charity in Ethiopia.
The decision to employ the man as a consultant in the African nation was described by the charity as a “serious error”.
Several staff were sacked or resigned in 2011 over a string of lurid claims, including that they had used prostitutes while delivering aid to Haiti.
Oxfam said in a statement it had identified that “one of those dismissed by Oxfam as a result of the sexual misconduct case in Haiti” was “subsequently hired by Oxfam as a consultant in Ethiopia”.
Hiring the man “even in an emergency as a short-term consultant” was a “serious error and should never have happened”, it continued.
“We are still checking how this occurred but it further highlights that we need an organisation and sector-wide approach to the vetting and recruitment of both staff and consultants, especially in emergencies where there is pressure to fill posts quickly in order to help save lives. “
The charity is now checking whether there were “any issues” while the man was posted in Ethiopia.
It is the latest revelation in a
(I am) deeply disturbed by allegations of immorality. Nobel Peace Prize winner and former Oxfam ambassador Desmond Tutu.
scandal which has seen the renowned aid charity rocked by a crisis of credibilty.
The Times first published details of Oxfam’s 2011 inquiry into the allegations, which were never fully disclosed to the public and have now fuelled suspicion of a cover-up.
The former Oxfam chief at the heart of the story broke his silence to dismiss as “lies and exaggerations” allegations that he threw parties with prostitutes.
Roland van Hauwermeiren resigned as Oxfam’s Haiti director when the explosive claims came to light in 2011, moving to another charity in Bangladesh which claimed not to have been warned about the nature of his departure.
Mr van Hauwermeiren admitted certain details that had come to light were accurate.
He said: “A lot of people, including in the international media, will be blushing with shame when they hear my version of the facts. It is not that I deny everything. There are things that are described correctly. But there are many lies and exaggerations.”
The news came as Oxfam revealed 1,270 people cancelled direct debits between Saturday and Monday – double the average of 600 cancellations per month.
Meanwhile, International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt met the National Crime Agency to hold private talks on how they can work together to tackle sexual exploitation and abuse.