Haiti’s President condemns Oxfam sex scandal

Haiti President Jovenel Moise has condemned the British charity, Oxfam, over the allegations that some of its staff members were engaged in paid sex while on a mission to help people affected by the earthquake in Haiti in 2010.

Violation of human dignity

“There is nothing more undignified and dishonest than a sexual predator who uses his position as part of the humanitarian response to a natural disaster to exploit needy people in moments of great vulnerability,” Moise said in a Twitter message late Monday. “What happened with Oxfam in Haiti is an extremely serious violation of human dignity,” he added.

Oxfam deputy chief executive officer, Penny Lawrence, has since resigned noting that “concerns were raised about the behavior of staff in Chad, as well as Haiti, that we failed to adequately act upon.”

Totally unacceptable

Last Friday, Oxfam described as “totally unacceptable” the behavior of the workers noting that such allegations risked undermining public trust in charities.

“The public expects charities to be safe and trusted environments that safeguard those who come into contact with them,” it said, noting that the “behavior 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.”

Oxfam said that “as soon as we became aware of the allegations we immediately launched an internal investigation.”.

The earthquake in Haiti killed more than 200,000 people and left millions homeless in the country.

Maximum transparency expected

The European Commission has said it expects full clarity and maximum transparency from Oxfam, warning it is ready to “cease funding any partner not living up to high ethical standards.” The charity’s program in Haiti received Euro1.7 million in 2011 from the EU and Britain’s International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt said Oxfam had apologized for its “appalling” behavior and that the government had not been told at the time the allegations involved sexual misconduct or beneficiaries.