QResear.ch

#16944661 at 2022-08-01 14:17:08 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #21246: Taiwan On The Radar Edition

>>16944645
oxfam → quakers
Mark Goldring → BP
BP/Deepwater Horizon → Marshall Islands
Marshall Islands → Mormon human trafficking

#16944645 at 2022-08-01 14:10:15 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #21246: Taiwan On The Radar Edition

>>16944630


Oxfam failed to report child abuse claims in Haiti, inquiry finds

Damning Charity Commission report warns incidents in country were not isolated events

There were "serious problems with the culture, morale and behaviour" of Oxfam staff in Haiti according to a damning report which has found that the charity failed to disclose allegations of child abuse.

The Charity Commission report surveyed 7,000 pieces of evidence related to allegations that Oxfam had covered up its investigation into staff paying for sex while working on the response to the 2010 earthquake in Haiti.

It is the most detailed report produced by the commission.

The Haiti scandal prompted resignations from Oxfam GB's chief executive, Mark Goldring, and its deputy chief executive, Penny Lawrence, and caused the charity to lose UK aid. In the immediate aftermath of the allegations, the charity lost thousands of donors.

The allegations also placed the aid sector under intense scrutiny, and prompted the UK government to host a safeguarding summit to improve accountability.

"What went wrong in Haiti did not happen in isolation. Our inquiry demonstrates that, over a period of years, Oxfam's internal culture tolerated poor behaviour, and at times lost sight of the values it stands for," said Helen Stephenson, chief executive of the Charity Commission, which set up an inquiry into the allegations last year.

The commission expressed concern over Oxfam's internal investigation into the claims that staff in Haiti had paid for sex, and over its response to separate accusations relating to abuse of children in Haiti.

Two emails, dated July and August 2011 and said to be from a 13-year-old girl about herself and a 12-year-old girl, made allegations of physical and sexual abuse involving Oxfam staff. The email stated that the two minors had been paid for sex and had been "... beaten and used by two men who I know work for you ..."

It was suspected by Oxfam at the time - but not then proven - that the allegations were not genuine, according to the report. However, the Charity Commission said the charity "should have tried harder to identify the source of the concerns and followed up the allegations". Last year, the emails were referred to the National Crime Agency by Oxfam and the commission.

Speaking on behalf of former Oxfam GB trustees and senior executives, Alison Talbot, partner and head of national charities at law firm Winckworth Sherwood, said the emails were investigated by Oxfam's investigations team but "were proven to originate from outside Haiti".

The commission issued Oxfam with an official warning, which will appear on the commission's register, and issued the charity with directions to improve.

Caroline Thomson, Oxfam GB's chair of trustees, said the commission's
findings into the organisation's behaviour "are very uncomfortable", adding:
"What happened in Haiti was shameful."

The watchdog stopped short of accusing Oxfam of a coverup over the allegations, but said the charity should have been "fuller and franker" in its reports to donors and regulators. Its handling of the allegations "was influenced by a desire to protect Oxfam GB's reputation, and to protect donor and stakeholder relationships", the inquiry said.

An internal investigation into allegations that staff members paid for sex was launched by Oxfam in 2011. However, the commission expressed serious concerns about the experience of the investigators and the resources they were given.

During the charity's internal investigation, information was leaked, compromising the safety and confidentiality of a witness, and leading to witness intimidation, the commission found.

In its reports to the regulator, Oxfam said categorically that misconduct did not involve beneficiaries. However, the commission concluded otherwise. It added that the charity should have done more to investigate whether children were among those involved.


moar here

> https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2019/jun/11/oxfam-abuse-claims-haiti-charity-commission-report

#2622138 at 2018-08-16 03:36:29 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #3309: Odor Incidents While Flying Edition

>>2622126
(contd)

"It was something everybody needed to take seriously and on a personal level just the sheer age of some of the victims, the lack of recourse and the sense of total and utter powerlessness on the part of them and their communities was shocking."

Ms Csaky declined to name the 23 organisations implicated but said they were across the "full spectrum" of aid agencies, NGOs, peacekeeping forces and UN agencies.

"We organised events to talk about these issues and the solutions where all of these donors and implementers were parts of those conversations," she added, saying the report sparked meetings and reforms within the UN.

It called for effective local complaints mechanisms for victims to combat "chronic underreporting," a new global watchdog to monitor the international response and for governments to prioritise tackling the root causes of abuse.

A spokesperson for Oxfam said: "As a result of the Save the Children report, a senior member of Oxfam staff visited Haiti to assess the situation for himself and measures were put in place.

"However, these measures proved insufficient and could have been compromised by staff who were were later investigated by Oxfam and found guilty of misconduct."

The British Government has demanded "absolute assurances" that all British charities operating abroad are protecting vulnerable people and referring complaints to authorities in the wake of revelations about Oxfam.

The Charity Commission has launched a statutory inquiry and the International Development Secretary, Penny Mordaunt, said Oxfam had agreed not to bid for new government funding until her department "is satisfied that they can meet the high standards we expect."

"We want to ensure that programmes we are already financially committed to are being delivered appropriately by Oxfam or any other Dfid partner," Ms Mordaunt said.

"Clearly Oxfam have a long way to go before they can regain the trust of the British public, their staff and the people they aim to help. The actions and attitude of the organisation over the coming weeks will be critical.

"I am determined that we do our utmost to prevent exploitation and abuse happening - and ensure that where it does happen it is identified and dealt with appropriately."

Oxfam has pledged to publish an internal investigation it mounted in 2011 over allegations of sexual and other misconduct in Haiti, which resulted in several members of staff being sacked and others including the country director resigning.

As part of a plan to "stamp out abuse," the charity is launching an independent review of its culture, creating a global database of accredited referees.

The reforms include more than doubling the number of people working in safeguarding while increasing annual funding to £720,000.

"What happened in Haiti and afterwards is a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years, and rightly so," said Oxfam International's executive director, Winnie Byanyima.

"Right now I have two utmost priorities for Oxfam: continuing to provide support to the millions of vulnerable people we work with around the world, and learning vital lessons from our past mistakes to make sure such abuse and exploitation does not happen again."

Oxfam GB's chief executive Mark Goldring, who has resisted pressure to resign, said the charity had "betrayed people's trust" and would work with the Government, the Charity Commission and others to reform.

More than 1,000 direct debits to the charity were cancelled over the weekend and the Government threatened to cut £31.7m annual public funding for Oxfam.

A report released on the future of international NGOs last year warned that they were being threatened by the actions of national governments delegating the response to increasingly "politicised" crises to their own agencies and militaries.

Andrew MacLeod, a former UN official, told The Independent the outrage sparked by the Oxfam scandal could be a "sustained turning point for change," adding: "This isn't an excuse to cut aid, this is an excuse to fix aid."

Mr MacLeod, who represents a charity targeting sexual abuse by UN agencies, said: "It's taken nine years to get to this point where we're getting some change peacekeepers but the problem is far bigger than that … this is an opportunity to reform the charity sector completely and permanently."

#2610588 at 2018-08-15 15:18:13 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #3294 Haiti Under The Anonscope Edition

>>2610582

(contd)

"I am determined that we do our utmost to prevent exploitation and abuse happening - and ensure that where it does happen it is identified and dealt with appropriately."

Oxfam has pledged to publish an internal investigation it mounted in 2011 over allegations of sexual and other misconduct in Haiti, which resulted in several members of staff being sacked and others including the country director resigning.

As part of a plan to "stamp out abuse", the charity is launching an independent review of its culture, creating a global database of accredited referees.

The reforms include more than doubling the number of people working in safeguarding while increasing annual funding to £720,000.

"What happened in Haiti and afterwards is a stain on Oxfam that will shame us for years, and rightly so," said Oxfam International's executive director, Winnie Byanyima.

"Right now I have two utmost priorities for Oxfam: continuing to provide support to the millions of vulnerable people we work with around the world, and learning vital lessons from our past mistakes to make sure such abuse and exploitation does not happen again."

Oxfam GB's chief executive Mark Goldring, who has resisted pressure to resign, said the charity had "betrayed people's trust" and would work with the Government, the Charity Commission and others to reform.

More than 1,000 direct debits to the charity were cancelled over the weekend and the Government threatened to cut £31.7m annual public funding for Oxfam.

A report released on the future of international NGOs last year warned that they were being threatened by the actions of national governments delegating the response to increasingly "politicised" crises to their own agencies and militaries.

Andrew MacLeod, a former UN official, told The Independent the outrage sparked by the Oxfam scandal could be a "sustained turning point for change", adding: "This isn't an excuse to cut aid, this is an excuse to fix aid."

Mr MacLeod, who represents a charity targeting sexual abuse by UN agencies, said: "It's taken nine years to get to this point where we're getting some change peacekeepers but the problem is far bigger than that … this is an opportunity to reform the charity sector completely and permanently."

#1880011 at 2018-06-23 23:36:22 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #2368" "Forthcoming Q&A Is Forthcoming" Edition

CHARITY SEX SCANDAL Aid workers at Médecins Sans Frontières 'paid for sex with local prostitutes'

One ex-employee even claimed a former senior colleague had claimed it was possible to barter for sex in exchange for medicine.

They claimed: "He said, 'Oh, it's so easy to barter medication with these easy girls in Liberia'.

"He was suggesting lots of the young girls who had lost their parents to the Ebola crisis would do anything sexual in exchange for medication."

The allegations were made against logistical staff, not doctors or nurses.

A woman once based at MSF's London office claimed she had seen a workmate bring girls back to their digs in Kenya.

She told Victoria Derbyshire on BBC Two the girls were very young, rumoured to be prostitutes, and it was implicit they were there for sex.

MSF revealed in February that it dealt with 24 cases of sexual harassment or abuse among its 40,000 staff last year, sacking 19.

It released the figures after the scandal at Oxfam, whose deputy chief executive quit over claims its staff used prostitutes in ==Haiti== after the 2010 earthquake.

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/6596431/aid-workers-at-medecins-sans-frontieres-paid-for-sex-with-orphans-using-medication/
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/5554879/oxfam-haiti-sex-scandal-allegations-resignations-Mark-Goldring-100m-cost/

#441698 at 2018-02-20 18:12:12 (UTC+1)
Q Research Thread 543: Who Would Do That Edition

I am not sure if anyone has been digging into the Oxfam/Haiti sex scandal case that has been happening since this weekend.

It involves charities, Haiti 2010 earthquake relief effort, and possible under-age prostitutes.


Notable news thus far:
- Roland van Hauwermeiren was Country Director (CD) for Merlin (a health charity that sends medical aid to global emergencies). It had worked in Haiti 2010 after the earthquake.

- From 2002 to 2004 as Merlin CD in Liberia he is accused of having sex with multiple prostitutes but says he just "went dancing with them."

- Ronald van Hauwermeiren then became Oxfam's Country Director (CD) . Oxfam is a charity dedicated to helping victims of famine and natural disasters, and raising living standards in developing countries.

- A whistleblower warned the charity about van Hauwermeiren's past behavior, but was told 'People can change.'

- A Oxfam 2011 report states there was "a culture of impunity" among some staff in Haiti and concluded that 'it cannot be ruled out that any of the prostitutes were under-aged'.

- At the end of the report, it recommended four dismissals and three resignations over allegations ranging from the use of prostitutes on charity property to sexual exploitation of employees.

- In 2013, Merlin merged with Save The Children.

- Today, Oxfam has received 26 more misconduct allegations since the Haiti scandal broke.

- Today, Chief executive Mark Goldring apologised for the scandal and eerily said 'it was 'not like we murdered babies in their cots (or cribs)'.

- MP Jo Cox, who was shot dead in 2016, her husband had relations to Oxfam. His wife worked at Oxfam from 2001 to 2009, and after her death he set up 2 charities in memory of her, Jo Cox Foundation and More In Common. He resigned after sexual allegation charges during his time at Save the Children in 2015 resurfaced.

- Allegations also included forcing himself on a woman during a trip to the US.

Sourced from the Daily Mail.

#351878 at 2018-02-12 17:10:26 (UTC+1)
Q Research General #432: Media Cleanse Edition

Oxfam: Deputy resigns over sex claims amid crisis talks

Oxfam's deputy chief executive has resigned over the handling of a sex scandal involving aid workers.

The British charity is accused of concealing the findings of an inquiry into claims staff used prostitutes while delivering aid in Haiti in 2011.

Penny Lawrence said she was "ashamed" and takes full responsibility.

Oxfam - which denies a cover-up - has met with the International Development Secretary in a bid to prevent its government funding from being cut.

Mark Goldring, chief executive of Oxfam GB, thanked Ms Lawrence for her service and said he "deeply respected" her decision to accept personal responsibility.

Ms Lawrence joined Oxfam GB in 2006 as international programmes director, leading teams across 60 countries, according to the charity's website.

Reality check: How much money goes to Oxfam?
How will the Haiti scandal affect Oxfam?
Oxfam boss says charity is ashamed
Oxfam did not disclose 'full Haiti details'

"Concerns were raised about the behaviour of staff in Chad as well as Haiti that we failed to adequately act upon," she said in a statement.

"It is now clear that these allegations - involving the use of prostitutes and which related to behaviour of both the country director and members of his team in Chad - were raised before he moved to Haiti."

Meanwhile the European Commission has said it expects full clarity and maximum transparency from Oxfam, adding that it is ready to "cease funding any partner not living up to high ethical standards".

The charity's programme in Haiti received ?1.7m in EU funds in 2011.

The Innocent drinks company - one of Oxfam's corporate sponsors which donates around £100,000 per year- said it wants to see a clear plan "for how this could not ever happen again".

Read more here https:// bbc.com/news/amp/uk-43027631