SOURCE: Devex
By Sophie Edwards
February 27, 2018
LONDON — In the wake of revelations that some Oxfam aid workers may have committed sexual crimes while working in Haiti after the 2011 earthquake, questions are being asked about how the staff involved managed to avoid prosecution and whether NGO and United Nations staff are in effect above the law when they carry out development or humanitarian work.
The revelations have led to widespread calls, including from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development, for an overhaul of the way the aid sector recruits and vets candidates. But it has also shone a light on a broader legal vacuum within the sector in which alleged perpetrators are able to avoid investigation from prosecuting authorities for crimes committed while working in humanitarian settings.
Despite the fact prostitution is illegal in Haiti and there were concerns some of the girls were underage, Oxfam decided not to report the case to the local police. Nor did the charity notify police in the alleged perpetrators’ home countries where it is possible they could have been investigated under child sex tourism extraterritorial laws.
Read the full article on Devex, here:
https://www.devex.com/news/accountability-in-the-aid-sector-humanitarians-can-no-longer-be-above-the-law-92133
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