The head of the World Health Organization is under pressure to act quickly on a report of a scandal affecting the WHO and other humanitarian organizations in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
More than 80 humanitarian workers, a quarter of whom are worked for the WHO, participated in sexual abuse and exploitation during the Ebola epidemic in eastern Congo, an independent commission said yesterday.
Investigation launched by WHO chief Tedros Adana Gebrejesus , was prompted by last year’s research by the Thomson Reuters Foundation and The New Humanitarian news agency, in which more than 50 women accused humanitarian workers from the WHO and other agencies of seeking sex in exchange for employment between 2018 and 2020.
Several countries yesterday expressed deep concern over the findings of an independent investigation.
“We expect the WHO to be fully committed to preventing and addressing such acts, including through fundamental WHO reforms,” said the US mission at To the United Nations in Geneva on behalf of several countries, including the United Kingdom, plus the European Union.
Commission report postponed for a month due to new allegations and expansion of investigation WHO.
Tedros has received widespread support for a second five-year term, formally nominated by 17 EU members, including major donors Germany and France, and backed by countries in other regions, diplomats told Reuters on September 23rd. after the deadline. They said that the USA also supports him.
His native Ethiopia did not support him due to the friction over the conflict in Tigris, so Europe was left to formalize his nomination. He is expected to be elected regardless of the scandal, diplomats said.
Under WHO rules, envelopes remain sealed until October 29, meaning a country may have nominated another candidate for election.
Western diplomats have expressed concern over the “failure of management” of the WHO during sexual violence in Congo. Middle managers have been criticized, but the top echelon, including Tedros, has not been indicted or directly linked, they added.
“The report is very bad. However, he also seems to be released by senior management, “a Western diplomat told Reuters. “Tedros really has to do everything in his power, show leadership and take action as soon as possible.”
France issued a statement calling on Tedros to fulfill his promise to submit an action plan within 10 days. on the report’s recommendations.
Tedros, who visited Congo 14 times during the Ebola epidemic, promised “zero tolerance” for sexual exploitation and apologized to the victims, but declined to say whether he was considering resigning. .
Senior official of the Kenyan Ministry of Foreign Affairs Macaria Kamau rejected the possibility of his government withdrawing support for the reappointment of Tedros.
*) Kelo Orjem , the Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uganda, told Reuters that “Tedros is an African candidate” and that Uganda will not deny him support.
”The NGOs making these accusations are from Western countries. Some of them may not want Tedros there. “It may be a conspiracy by some Western countries to make that position impossible for Africa,” Orjem said. nine accusations of rape were committed by both domestic and international staff.
A spokesman for the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) said it was seeking information on humanitarian workers from agencies other than the WHO who were involved in the violence, but did not specify whether UNICEF staff is involved, Reuters writes.
“We remain firmly committed to ending sexual exploitation and abuse in the humanitarian sector, providing assistance to victims and bringing perpetrators to justice,” the spokesman said.
A former UN official who worked in Congo during the Ebola crisis said: “They should be fired, stripped of their immunity and handed over to national prosecutors. They have committed crimes in that country and are subject to the punishment of that country. ”
“ This is an endemic problem in the UN, so it is not specific to the WHO or Tedros. This happens every time in all types of deployment in Congo, sexual exploitation and abuse go unpunished. ”
UN immunity?
Most members of UN staff enjoy functional immunity, meaning they cannot be brought to justice for anything they have done as part of their job. However, the Secretary-General has the power to lift that immunity if it interferes with justice.
Activists have said that sexual abuse and ill-treatment are common in Congo and have called for reforms. Reuters reports that there have been a number of incidents of alleged sexual abuse by UN peacekeepers in several missions in Africa over the past decade.
“Sexual abuse of women in exchange for employment or other benefits appears to have a widespread phenomenon in the DRC, including in public administration, at universities, in churches and companies. The same is the case within the UN system, international NGOs and local organizations, “said Jean Mober Senga, Amnesty International’s Congolese researcher.
” … The WHO and other UN institutions should now implement recommendations from the report and take all necessary steps to prevent the recurrence of such abuses, in the DRC or elsewhere, “he added.
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