The British government has announced it is reviewing all of its work with Oxfam amid allegations that the charity covered up a scandal involving its staff using prostitutes in Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.
The Department for International Development said on Saturday that it had no tolerance for sexual misconduct and that the charity needed to explain "the way this appalling abuse of vulnerable people was dealt with".
"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 spokesperson said.
It comes after an investigation by British newspaper The Times found the charity, which is headquartered in Oxford, UK, allowed three men to resign and sacked four others who had been accused of gross misconduct following an inquiry into sexual exploitation by aid workers in Haiti.
Oxfam’s staff had been on the poverty-stricken island as part of a massive international relief effort after a devastating earthquake in 2010, which killed 220,000 people and left 1.5 million displaced.
Oxfam’s chief executive Mark Goldring insisted there was no cover-up, telling the BBC: "We were very open with the public that we were ashamed of the behaviour of our staff. We still are."
He added that he is “absolutely committed… to wipe out that kind of behaviour from Oxfam and rebuild that relationship of trust [with the public]."
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Oxfam has said it launched an immediate internal investigation in 2011 which found a "culture of impunity" among some staff.
"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 a statement on 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 and that it had “serious questions” to answer. Oxfam received nearly £32 million in funding from DFID last year.
The DFID spokesperson added: "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."
According to sources cited by The Times, groups of young prostitutes were invited to homes and guesthouses paid for by the charity for sex parties.
In further revelations, 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.
KILLING OF QASSEM SULEIMANI
Dirham Stretcher tips for having a baby in the UAE
Selma Abdelhamid, the group's moderator, offers her guide to guide the cost of having a young family:
• Buy second hand stuff
They grow so fast. Don't get a second hand car seat though, unless you 100 per cent know it's not expired and hasn't been in an accident.
• Get a health card and vaccinate your child for free at government health centres
Ms Ma says she discovered this after spending thousands on vaccinations at private clinics.
• Join mum and baby coffee mornings provided by clinics, babysitting companies or nurseries.
Before joining baby classes ask for a free trial session. This way you will know if it's for you or not. You'll be surprised how great some classes are and how bad others are.
• Once baby is ready for solids, cook at home
Take the food with you in reusable pouches or jars. You'll save a fortune and you'll know exactly what you're feeding your child.
The specs: 2018 Jeep Grand Cherokee Trackhawk
Price, base: Dh399,999
Engine: Supercharged 6.2-litre V8
Gearbox: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 707hp @ 6,000rpm
Torque: 875Nm @ 4,800rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 16.8L / 100km (estimate)
In numbers
Number of Chinese tourists coming to UAE in 2017 was... 1.3m
Alibaba’s new ‘Tech Town’ in Dubai is worth... $600m
China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
Sholto Byrnes on Myanmar politics
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
A Prayer Before Dawn
Director: Jean-Stephane Sauvaire
Starring: Joe Cole, Somluck Kamsing, Panya Yimmumphai
Three stars
INDIA SQUAD
Rohit Sharma (captain), Shikhar Dhawan (vice-captain), KL Rahul, Suresh Raina, Manish Pandey, Dinesh Karthik (wicketkeeper), Deepak Hooda, Washington Sundar, Yuzvendra Chahal, Axar Patel, Vijay Shankar, Shardul Thakur, Jaydev Unadkat, Mohammad Siraj and Rishabh Pant (wicketkeeper)
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