BFF-06 UK Govt reviews Oxfam work amid Haiti prostitutes scandal

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BFF-06

BRITAIN-CHARITY-PROSTITUTION-HAITI

UK Govt reviews Oxfam work amid Haiti prostitutes scandal

LONDON, Feb 10, 2018 (BSS/AFP) – The British Government announced late
Friday it was reviewing all work with Oxfam amid revelations the charity’s
staff hired prostitutes in Haiti during a 2011 relief effort on the
earthquake-hit island.

The Department for International Development (DFID) said the UK-based
charity’s leaders had “showed a lack of judgement” in investigating the
matter and in its openness with the government and Britain’s Charity
Commission regulator.

“The International Development Secretary is reviewing our current work
with Oxfam and has requested a meeting with the senior team at the earliest
opportunity,” a DFID spokeswoman said.

“The way this appalling abuse of vulnerable people was dealt with raises
serious questions that Oxfam must answer.”

The move follows growing pressure on the charity after an investigation by
The Times found young sex workers were hired by senior staff in Haiti after
the 2010 earthquake which devastated the island and left up to 300,000 people
dead.

Groups of young prostitutes were invited to homes and guesthouses paid for
by the charity for sex parties, according to one source who claimed to have
seen footage of an orgy with sex workers wearing Oxfam t-shirts.

In further revelations Friday, the paper reported that Oxfam failed to
warn other aid agencies about the implicated staff, which allowed them to get
jobs among vulnerable people in other disaster areas.

Roland van Hauwermeiren, 68, who Oxfam has confirmed was forced to resign
as Haiti country director in 2011 after allegedly admitting hiring
prostitutes, went on to become head of mission for Action Against Hunger in
Bangladesh in 2014, according to The Times.

The French charity told the paper it made pre-employment checks but that
Oxfam “did not share with us any warning regarding (his) unethical conduct,
the reasons for his resignation or the results of internal inquiry”.

“Moreover we received positive references from former Oxfam staff who
worked with him, among them a (former) HR person,” a spokesman added.

– ‘Totally unacceptable’ –

Even before the latest allegations, Britain’s government ordered Oxfam
Friday to hand over files on implicated staff to the Charity Commission,
which regulates the sector.

Oxfam has said it launched an immediate internal investigation in 2011
which found a “culture of impunity” among some staff, but denied it was
behind a “cover-up” to protect its reputation.

It dismissed four staff members while a further three, including van
Hauwermeiren, resigned before the investigation concluded.

Oxfam insisted allegations that underage girls may have been involved were
not proven.

“The behaviour of some members of Oxfam staff uncovered in Haiti in 2011
was totally unacceptable, contrary to our values and the high standards we
expect of our staff,” it said in its latest statement Friday.

“Our primary aim was always to root out and take action against those
involved and we publicly announced, including to media, both the
investigation and the action we took as a result.”

But in its statement, DFID said the charity had fallen short.

“We acknowledge that hundreds of Oxfam staff have done no wrong and work
tirelessly for the people they serve, but the handling by the senior team
about this investigation and their openness with us and the charity
commission showed a lack of judgement.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for the type of activity that took place
in this instance, and we expect our partners to as well.”

BSS/AFP/MRI/ 0828 hrs