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Oxfam boss apologises to MPs over abuse of Haiti quake victims Oxfam boss apologises to MPs over abuse of Haiti quake victims
(about 3 hours later)
Mark Goldring, the head of Oxfam, has apologised to MPs for the actions of staff who sexually exploited female victims of the Haiti earthquake in 2010. Oxfam has lost 7,000 regular donors since it was revealed staff sexually exploited victims of the Haiti earthquake in 2010, its chief executive has told a committee of MPs, which accused the charity of treating vulnerable women “like trinkets”.
He acknowledged that the charity’s actions had damaged the whole aid community, as well as the people of Haiti. Goldring told the Commons international development committee that 7,000 people had cancelled their donations since the scandal broke. During questioning by the international development committee, Mark Goldring apologised to MPs for the actions of staff who were dismissed for their use of sex workers in Haiti, and acknowledged that the charity’s actions had damaged the whole aid community, as well as the people of Haiti.
He also apologised for his own comments that appeared to downplay the seriousness of the scandal. In an interview last week in the Guardian, Goldring said the charity was being attacked as if “babies had been murdered in their cots”. The Labour MP Stephen Twigg, who chairs the committee, said it was striking how often Goldring needed to apologise during the near-two-hour evidence session, saying there was “a lot to apologise for”.
Asked about his comments, which led to calls for his resignation, the Oxfam executive said: “I do apologise. I was under stress. I’d given many interviews, I’d made many decisions to try to lead Oxfam’s response to this. I was thinking about amazing work I’ve seen Oxfam do around the world, most recently with refugees coming from Myanmar.” Goldring said there had been 26 reports of sexual misconduct since the news of the Haiti abuse broke, of which 16 related to international programmes. “We really want people to come forward wherever they are and whenever this happened,” he said.
He said it was wrong of him to talk about how he had not slept for six days, or make a comparison between what he was going through and what people in Haiti had suffered. He also admitted thousands of people had cancelled their donations since the scandal broke and said corporate donors were waiting to watch what the charity’s response would be.
“I should not have said those things. It is not for Oxfam to judge issues of proportionality or motivation. I repeat Oxfam’s apology and my personal apology. I am, we are, sorry for the damage Oxfam has done both to the people of Haiti but also to the wider efforts for aid and development by possibly undermining public support. Goldring, who took up his post in 2013, said Oxfam’s director in Haiti, Roland van Hauwermeiren, should not have been allowed to resign when his role in the scandal was revealed and that the charity should have done more to warn future employers rather than merely refusing to give a reference.
“I wholeheartedly apologise for those comments and commit to work in that greater public interest so that Oxfam can make a powerful role in the world that we all believe in.” When pressed on the ages of the women involved, Goldring said Oxfam’s own investigations found no women were under 18, the legal age of consent in Haiti. “Our investigation included trying to speak to the women involved ... and it interviewed as many of the women as it could trace. In those interviews, the women were asked their age and no evidence arose they were under 18.”
Goldring, who took up his post in 2013, said Roland van Hauwermeiren, who was forced to resign as a result of the Haiti scandal, should not have been allowed to resign. The charity, which did not supply a reference when asked for one by another charity, should have been more proactive in warning them, he said. The Conservative MP Pauline Latham said she was deeply concerned about the attitude to the Haitian women involved, including comments from Goldring that the charity had been advised not to report it to the authorities in Haiti because of a lack of confidence that any action would be taken. Goldring said he had not been able to track down where the advice had come from, “either verbally or informally”.
“We should have said, please call us, there’s cause for concern.” “Prostitutes are victims, they are not doing it because they want to be prostitutes,” Latham said. “These poor girls have had a natural disaster. You as an organisation, along with others, go in there promising to help. These are pretty vulnerable women and girls, looking for Oxfam to get them through this terrible situation. You are dealing with these women and girls as if they are just trinkets and you can pay for them, give them a bit of aid, and that’s OK.”
The scandal has raised concerns about charity staff who have been dismissed for serious misconduct being able to move to other charities. Goldring repeatedly apologised to the committee for his own comments that had appeared to play down the seriousness of the scandal. In an interview last week in the Guardian, Goldring said the charity was being attacked as if “we murdered babies in their cots” and said he had not slept for six days.
Asked how many further revelations had come to his notice since reports of the Haiti scandal emerged two weeks ago, Golding said there had been 26 reports, 16 of which related to international programmes. “I make no excuses, I make an apology for comparing what I was going through with the bigger picture,” he said. “My first concern is the women of Haiti and anybody else who has been wronged as a result of Oxfam’s programme. I shouldn’t have put my own sleep, or lack of it, in the public domain.
“Across Oxfam Great Britain we have had about 26 stories, reports come to us which were either new reports come out as a result of the stories, or earlier stories where people said, ‘I didn’t necessarily report this at the time’. Over an extended period of time. I am not talking about recent cases. “I have tried hard to balance work and sleep over the last two weeks. The results, I believe, are that I’m continuing to do my job and I’m continuing to make appropriate decisions. I hope I have led Oxfam competently, but that’s for others to decide.”
“We really want people to come forward wherever they are and whenever this happened. Some of those cases relate to the UK, some of them relate to our international programme.”
It emerged on Tuesday that Goldring was under investigation for his handling of a sexual assault case at the charity after a whistleblower complaint. The case, which relates to the sacking of an Oxfam country director in Nigeria by a senior manager she had accused of sexually assaulting her, will be part of the Charity Commission’s inquiry into Oxfam announced last week after it emerged it had covered up allegations of sexual misconduct by senior staff in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake.
The international development committee called an urgent hearing last week to question Oxfam heads, following anger over the charity’s handling of allegations that staff in Haiti used prostitutes, including those who may have been underage.
A redacted version of an internal report from 2011, released by the charity on Monday, revealed that three of the men accused of sexual misconduct in Haiti physically threatened witnesses during an investigation.
Goldring told the committee that at the time of the original investigation into events in Haiti, Oxfam issued a press release revealing its findings of “serious misconduct” involving bullying, intimidation and breaches of the charity’s code of conduct. It did not go into details at the time about the fact that sexual exploitation was involved. He admitted, with hindsight, the charity should have been more transparent.Goldring told the committee that at the time of the original investigation into events in Haiti, Oxfam issued a press release revealing its findings of “serious misconduct” involving bullying, intimidation and breaches of the charity’s code of conduct. It did not go into details at the time about the fact that sexual exploitation was involved. He admitted, with hindsight, the charity should have been more transparent.
“We know now that that was not enough,” he said. “My colleagues at the time made a set of decisions about how public to go. With hindsight they made the wrong call. If we were culpable – which we were – we should have been completely transparent. At the time, I suspect there was a balance of saying: ‘Oxfam is delivering life-saving assistance to a million people in Haiti … We have got to keep that work going’.” “We know now that that was not enough,” he said. “My colleagues at the time made a set of decisions about how public to go. With hindsight, they made the wrong call. If we were culpable – which we were – we should have been completely transparent. At the time, I suspect there was a balance of saying: ‘Oxfam is delivering life-saving assistance to a million people in Haiti … we have got to keep that work going.’”
Two other Oxfam officials questioned by MPs also issued apologies on behalf of the organisation. Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam’s international executive director, said she was ashamed. Two other Oxfam officials also issued apologies on behalf of the organisation. Winnie Byanyima, Oxfam’s international executive director, said: “I have spent my life trying to stand up for women’s rights and to fight for people living in poverty. This is painful for me. Some hideous men came into our organisation and abused the trust of the British people, the supporters, but they were able to get away, to get a recommendation to leave. This was wrong.”
“I have spent my life trying to stand up for women’s rights and to fight for people living in poverty. This is painful for me. Some hideous men came into our organisation and abused the trust of the British people, the supporters, But they were able to get away, to get a recommendation to leave. This was wrong.” Caroline Thomson, the chair of trustees at Oxfam, said: “On behalf of the council for Oxfam, we are ashamed of what happened in Haiti. We don’t think it was well-handled and our task now is to make sure we report always with transparency and accountability.”
Caroline Thomson, the chair of trustees at Oxfam, said: “On behalf of the council for Oxfam, we are ashamed of what happened in Haiti. We don’t think it was well-handled and our task now is to make sure we report always with transparency and accountability. My task is to make sure we never again can be at the risk of being perceived to have put reputation over accountability.”
Oxfam has pledged to overhaul its recruitment and vetting procedures and submit to an independent commission to investigate allegations of sex abuse.Oxfam has pledged to overhaul its recruitment and vetting procedures and submit to an independent commission to investigate allegations of sex abuse.
Stephen Twigg, the committee chairman, announced a wider inquiry into sexual exploitation in the aid sector.
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