British charity Oxfam has apologized to the government of Haiti after its staff was accused of sexual misconduct during a mission following the devastating earthquake of 2010.
“We communicated that to the minister, and are giving as best as we can, explanations as to what happened in 2011,” Oxfam’s regional director Simon Ticehurst told reporters on Monday after meeting with Haiti’s Minister of Planning and External Cooperation, Aviol Fleurant.
Earlier this month, reports surfaced that Oxfam employees paid sex workers while on an aid mission to the country.
Oxfam staff fired or resigned
According to Oxfam, seven employees have left the organization based on an international probe carried out in 2011.
It was also revealed that four members of staff were fired, and three others, including former country director Roland van Hauwermeiren, were allowed to resign over the allegations.
During Monday’s briefing with reporters, Fleurant said his government was investigating a possible coverup. “Oxfam admits the use of prostitutes by their staff in 2011, they admitted with all the evidence,” he said.
“They even used their offices for such activities. Now we are working to see if there was a cover-up, because their report never made it to the Haitian authorities,” he added.
Reputation damaged
The scandal has dealt a devastating blow to the reputation of the organization and threatens to complicate the work of other charities.
Oxfam’s funding in the UK is currently under review. On Tuesday, its executives were questioned by UK politicians over the charity’s handling of the allegations.
Mark Goldring, the charity’s chief executive, said he was “sorry for the damage Oxfam has done both to the people of Haiti, but also to wider efforts for aid and development, by possibly undermining public support.”
Goldring also said that the charity has received allegations of 26 new misconduct violations since the scandal broke out. He added that 16 relate to international programs.
