UK tells charities: no more cash if you don't come clean on abuse

LONDON (Reuters) - Britain will stop funding overseas aid agencies if they fail to learn the lessons from Oxfam’s sex abuse scandal, and the government will discuss possible prosecutions with law enforcement, the British development minister said on Wednesday.

Penny Mordaunt told anti-poverty groups that Britain - one of the world’s most generous foreign development donors - would cut funding if they could not show they were clear of the kind of abuse that has rocked Oxfam.

The Times newspaper reported on Friday that some Oxfam staff paid for sex with prostitutes in Haiti after the country’s 2010 earthquake. Oxfam has neither confirmed nor denied that specific account but has said an internal investigation in 2011 confirmed sexual misconduct occurred and it has apologized.

“Unless you safeguard everyone your organization comes into contact with, including beneficiaries, staff and volunteers, we will not fund you,” Mordaunt told a conference attended by representatives of development agencies in Stockholm.

“Unless you create a culture that prioritizes the safety of vulnerable people and ensures victims and whistleblowers can come forward without fear, we will not work with you,” she said.

“And unless you report every serious incident or allegation, no matter how damaging to your reputation, we cannot be partners.”

Mordaunt said she was due to meet the head of Britain’s National Crime Agency (NCA) on Thursday. The NCA has led investigations which led to the jailing of British citizens for sex crimes committed abroad.

“While investigations have to be completed and any potential criminals prosecuted accordingly, what is clear is that the culture that allowed this to happen needs to change. And it needs to change now,” she said.

‘SERIOUS SEXUAL CRIMES’

A spokeswoman said Mordaunt would discuss how her office and the NCA could work together to implement laws on sexual exploitation and abuse, but added that the meeting did not relate specifically to criminal activity involving Oxfam staff.

The Haitian government could revoke Oxfam’s right to operate in the Caribbean island, said Aviol Fleurant, the minister of planning and external cooperation.

Oxfam officials had been summoned to meet with his ministry staff on Thursday to explain the accusations of sexual misconduct, Fleurant said.

“The allegations appear very serious and we don’t rule out the possibility to revoke Oxfam’s authorization to operate in Haiti as an NGO, should alleged misconduct prove to be true,” Fleurant said by phone late on Tuesday. “We want this issue to be addressed to its full extent and alleged abusers prosecuted by criminal courts.”