Meeting with Haitian minister comes as charity publishes report into scandal
Oxfam has offered its “humblest apologies” to the Haitian government over allegations of sexual exploitation by its staff.
The chief executive of Oxfam GB, Mark Goldring, and the head of Oxfam International, Winnie Byanyima, have also requested an “official high-level meeting” with the government.
On Monday, two senior members of the charity’s leadership, Simon Ticehurst and Margalida Massot, met Haiti’s minister of planning and external cooperation to present the formal apology. The meeting was called by the minister to “begin clarifying the exact allegations and investigations” into the “abusive behaviours” of some Oxfam staff after the devastating earthquake in 2010 which killed thousands of people.
Ticehurst, who is the regional director for Latin America, said: “Oxfam is grateful to the Haitian government for allowing us the chance now to offer our humblest apologies and to begin explaining ourselves and start the long road ahead of re-establishing trust and partnership, given our 40-year history with
Haiti and its citizens.
“We stand ready to engage with the Haitian people and have expressed our openness to cooperate as much as required with the Haitian government.”
The apology was made as Oxfam finally released the findings of its investigation into the behaviour of relief workers sent to Haiti in the aftermath of the earthquake, as part of efforts to draw a line under the crisis that has engulfed the charity for the past week.
A copy of the 10-page report includes details of how the allegations came to light and of Oxfam’s investigative process, which included interviews with about 40 witnesses – one of whom was physically threatened and intimidated by three of the suspects after details of the investigation were leaked.
Responding to the report during a visit to a school in west London, Theresa May described the behaviour uncovered as “horrific”.
The prime minister told journalists: “The behaviour that we’ve now discovered was horrific. It was far below the standards that we expect for the charities and the NGOs that we’re working with. And I understand there have been further revelations today which show that actually there was physical intimidation of witnesses. This is absolutely horrific.
“This is exactly the problem that we see which means that all too often people don’t feel able to come forward to report what has happened to them, the behaviour that they’ve been on the receiving end of.”
The apology and release of the report follows a threat by Haiti over the weekend to revoke Oxfam’s permission to work in the country.