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You can find the current article at its original source at https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2018/feb/13/oxfam-disgraced-haiti-official-liberia-post-roland-van-hauwermeiren
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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Oxfam's disgraced Haiti official left earlier post over 'sex parties' | Oxfam's disgraced Haiti official left earlier post over 'sex parties' |
| (about 12 hours later) | |
| Roland van Hauwermeiren was forced out of Liberia role with charity Merlin over sex worker allegations in 2004, before working for Oxfam | Roland van Hauwermeiren was forced out of Liberia role with charity Merlin over sex worker allegations in 2004, before working for Oxfam |
| Rebecca Ratcliffe | Rebecca Ratcliffe |
| Tue 13 Feb 2018 17.19 GMT | Tue 13 Feb 2018 17.19 GMT |
| Last modified on Wed 14 Feb 2018 08.50 GMT | |
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| The aid official embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal at the charity Oxfam had allegedly been forced out by another British charity seven years earlier, following an investigation into the use of sex workers. | The aid official embroiled in a sexual misconduct scandal at the charity Oxfam had allegedly been forced out by another British charity seven years earlier, following an investigation into the use of sex workers. |
| Roland van Hauwermeiren agreed to leave his job working for the charity Merlin in Liberia in 2004, following an investigation into sex parties with local women, according to the humanitarian news website Irin. Merlin, a medical emergency relief charity, has since merged with Save the Children. | Roland van Hauwermeiren agreed to leave his job working for the charity Merlin in Liberia in 2004, following an investigation into sex parties with local women, according to the humanitarian news website Irin. Merlin, a medical emergency relief charity, has since merged with Save the Children. |
| Oxfam has been accused of covering up an inquiry into whether its staff used sex workers in Haiti during a 2011 post-earthquake relief eff ort. It is alleged those who were paid by the aid workers may have been underage. An investigation by the Times found that Oxfam allowed three men to resign and sacked four others for gross misconduct after an inquiry into sexual exploitation, the downloading of photography, bullying and intimidation. | |
| The government has threatened to cut funds to Oxfam unless it shows “moral leadership”. In 2016-17, Oxfam’s income was £408.6m, according to its annual report, including £31.7m from the DfID. Aidan Warner of the National Council for Voluntary Organisations said: “They will be concerned not just about the money but the endorsement that the relationship with Dfi d represents, and they are clearly working hard to regain the confi dence of the government as well as the public.” | |
| Last year the UK government dedicated £13.3bn to international aid. About £1.2bn of UK aid is spent annually through NGOs. In 2016, the UK was one of only six countries to spend 0.7% of gross national income on aid, a target set by the UN for all developed countries. P enny Mordaunt, the international development secretary, has said the UK remains committed to this target, despite some Tory MPs calling for it to be dropped. | |
| A number have now been implicated . Some of the employees involved in the Haiti case went on to work for other NGOs. Over the weekend, the Sunday Times also reported that more than 120 workers from Britain’s leading charities have been accused of sexual abuse in the past year. Save the Children, which in 2016 secured multi-year contracts worth £91m with the government, had 31 cases, 10 of which were referred to the police. The British Red Cross, which admitted a “small number of cases of harassment reported in the UK”, received £16.3m in Dfi d funding. | |
| Van Hauwermeiren went on to work for Oxfam in Chad and Haiti, where the charity’s staff are alleged to have used sex workers. An investigation by the Times found van Hauwermeiren resigned from his role as the head of mission in Haiti in 2011, after admitting that prostitutes had visited his villa there. He later worked for the French charity Action Against Hunger as country director in Bangladesh. | Van Hauwermeiren went on to work for Oxfam in Chad and Haiti, where the charity’s staff are alleged to have used sex workers. An investigation by the Times found van Hauwermeiren resigned from his role as the head of mission in Haiti in 2011, after admitting that prostitutes had visited his villa there. He later worked for the French charity Action Against Hunger as country director in Bangladesh. |
| The UK’s Charity Commission has since launched a statutory inquiry into Oxfam amid concerns it might not have “fully and frankly disclosed” all details about the Haiti allegations. The charity’s deputy chief executive, Penny Lawrence, has also resigned, saying she was “desperately sorry”. | The UK’s Charity Commission has since launched a statutory inquiry into Oxfam amid concerns it might not have “fully and frankly disclosed” all details about the Haiti allegations. The charity’s deputy chief executive, Penny Lawrence, has also resigned, saying she was “desperately sorry”. |
| According to a report by Irin, concerns relating to van Hauwermeiren and his colleagues were reported twice by the Swedish civil servant and former aid worker Amira Malik Miller. Miller alerted both Merlin and the Swedish government’s aid department, which went on to give almost $750,000 (£540,000) towards Oxfam’s Chad mission, under van Hauwermeiren’s management. | According to a report by Irin, concerns relating to van Hauwermeiren and his colleagues were reported twice by the Swedish civil servant and former aid worker Amira Malik Miller. Miller alerted both Merlin and the Swedish government’s aid department, which went on to give almost $750,000 (£540,000) towards Oxfam’s Chad mission, under van Hauwermeiren’s management. |
| “He just goes around the system … from Liberia to Chad, to Haiti, to Bangladesh. Someone should have checked properly,” she told Irin. | “He just goes around the system … from Liberia to Chad, to Haiti, to Bangladesh. Someone should have checked properly,” she told Irin. |
| In 2004, Miller made a formal complaint to Merlin’s head office in London, after witnessing a colleague fondling a young local woman in the charity’s guesthouse, according to Irin. An internal investigation found that the management team, four men, were all paying for sex. The investigation also found they had been using Merlin cars to drive sex workers to and from parties at the charity’s guest house. Van Hauwermeiren denied the findings, but agreed to resign. | In 2004, Miller made a formal complaint to Merlin’s head office in London, after witnessing a colleague fondling a young local woman in the charity’s guesthouse, according to Irin. An internal investigation found that the management team, four men, were all paying for sex. The investigation also found they had been using Merlin cars to drive sex workers to and from parties at the charity’s guest house. Van Hauwermeiren denied the findings, but agreed to resign. |
| Miller told Irin that she felt the disciplinary action taken could have been stronger. One employee who had paid for sex was told to apologise and allowed to keep his job. | Miller told Irin that she felt the disciplinary action taken could have been stronger. One employee who had paid for sex was told to apologise and allowed to keep his job. |
| Miller reported concerns about van Hauwermeiren’s behaviour again four years later, in 2008, when working for the Swedish government’s aid department. After reading a funding application from Oxfam in Chad, she saw that van Hauwermeiren was listed as country director, and alerted the then humanitarian director of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Per Byman. Sida gave a $748,537 grant to Oxfam for Chad in the same year. | Miller reported concerns about van Hauwermeiren’s behaviour again four years later, in 2008, when working for the Swedish government’s aid department. After reading a funding application from Oxfam in Chad, she saw that van Hauwermeiren was listed as country director, and alerted the then humanitarian director of the Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), Per Byman. Sida gave a $748,537 grant to Oxfam for Chad in the same year. |
| In response to the allegations, Oxfam said the sheer numbers of NGOs operating meant that it was not possible to prevent those found guilty of exploitation from finding jobs elsewhere. The chairwoman of Oxfam Great Britain’s council of trustees, Caroline Thomson, said: “As recent events have shown, sexual abuse is a blight on society and Oxfam is not immune. Indeed, NGOs that work in often fragile and unstable environments can become targets for abusers. | In response to the allegations, Oxfam said the sheer numbers of NGOs operating meant that it was not possible to prevent those found guilty of exploitation from finding jobs elsewhere. The chairwoman of Oxfam Great Britain’s council of trustees, Caroline Thomson, said: “As recent events have shown, sexual abuse is a blight on society and Oxfam is not immune. Indeed, NGOs that work in often fragile and unstable environments can become targets for abusers. |
| “We have made significant improvements since 2011 in our efforts to expose and eliminate sexual abuse but we know we have to be vigilant and to continue to improve if we are to constantly live up to the high standards rightly expected of us. It is not sufficient to be appalled by the behaviour of our former staff – we must and will learn from it and use it as a spur to improvement.” | “We have made significant improvements since 2011 in our efforts to expose and eliminate sexual abuse but we know we have to be vigilant and to continue to improve if we are to constantly live up to the high standards rightly expected of us. It is not sufficient to be appalled by the behaviour of our former staff – we must and will learn from it and use it as a spur to improvement.” |
| Save the Children said that it is unable to comment on the case, adding that it merged with Merlin in 2013, nine years after the incident. | Save the Children said that it is unable to comment on the case, adding that it merged with Merlin in 2013, nine years after the incident. |
| A spokesperson for the Charity Commission of England and Wales said: “We can confirm that Merlin merged with Save the Children in 2013. We have immediately contacted Save The Children to establish whether they have any knowledge of and/or hold any records about these reports either at the time of the merger or subsequently and if so to ask them to urgently disclose this information to us. | A spokesperson for the Charity Commission of England and Wales said: “We can confirm that Merlin merged with Save the Children in 2013. We have immediately contacted Save The Children to establish whether they have any knowledge of and/or hold any records about these reports either at the time of the merger or subsequently and if so to ask them to urgently disclose this information to us. |
| “This clearly raises issues for UK charities about recruitment, vetting and references for charity personnel, particularly in the context of international aid work to ensure that people who pose a significant risk to charities, their work and reputation are not allowed to infiltrate the charity sector. This issue will be on the agenda for our forthcoming safeguarding summit.” | “This clearly raises issues for UK charities about recruitment, vetting and references for charity personnel, particularly in the context of international aid work to ensure that people who pose a significant risk to charities, their work and reputation are not allowed to infiltrate the charity sector. This issue will be on the agenda for our forthcoming safeguarding summit.” |
| Last year, the regulator asked charities to report any previously withheld cases of abuse. | Last year, the regulator asked charities to report any previously withheld cases of abuse. |
| Aid | Aid |
| Oxfam | Oxfam |
| Haiti | Haiti |
| Charities | Charities |
| Sweden | Sweden |
| Voluntary sector | Voluntary sector |
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