One of Europe’s most well-known charities, Oxfam, has been hit by scandal again after allegations of sexual misconduct were made against staff working in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The allegations come just two years after Britain’s Charity Commission found in 2019 that Oxfam had not fully disclosed allegations that staff working in Haiti after a devastating earthquake had sexualy abused vulnerable people including minors.
Now, the British Foreign Office has acted swiftly to the new allegations over alleged sexual abuse in the DRC.
In a statement on Wednesday night, the Foreign Office (FCDO) said: “All organisations bidding for UK aid must meet the high standards of safeguarding required to keep the people they work with safe.
“Given the most recent reports, which call into question Oxfam’s ability to meet those standards, we will not consider any new funding to Oxfam until the issues have been resolved.”
The charity which receives some £30 million per year from the UK government said that it was investigating the latest claims.
The Charity Commission report into Oxfam’s misbehaviour in Haiti found that “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 said in 2019. which set up an inquiry into the allegations last year.
The Commission found that at least one witness was intimidated during Oxfam’s own inquiry into the allegations and that sexual misconduct did affect those whom the charity was supposed to assist. It added that the charity should have done more to investigate whether children were among those involved.