Haiti Bars Oxfam Great Britain After Sexual Abuse Scandal

Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The Haitian government has permanently banned Oxfam Great Britain from operating in the country after revelations of sexual misconduct by some of the charity’s staff members in the aftermath of the devastating 2010 earthquake.

The government released a statement Wednesday announcing it was canceling the international charity’s status as a non-governmental organization, or NGO, for violating Haitian law and the principle of human dignity.

Oxfam International staff are testing the water quality of a river outside the

capital Port-au-Prince. Photo credit: Ivan M. García/Intermón Oxfam.

Haiti suspended Oxfam Great Britain in February after a report by the charity on the behavior of aid workers sent to Haiti revealed seven of them were accused of using prostitutes at an Oxfam-funded home and three of them physically threatened a witness in the investigation.

Four staff members were fired for gross misconduct, and Oxfam’s director for Haiti, Roland Van Hauwermeiren, and two others were allowed to resign.

The allegations of sexual misconduct rattled the aid sector, prompting Britain and the European Union to review funding for Oxfam, one of the world’s largest disaster relief charities.

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