International Refugee Rights Intiative (IRRI)

In 2002 a report on sexual abuse and exploitation by humanitarian workers published by UNHCR and Save the Children focused the world’s attention on the abuse and exploitation of refugees and other vulnerable populations by the very persons charged with their care. The report identified numerous allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation in West Africa and suggested that such abuse was pervasive. One adolescent was quoted as saying, “It’s difficult to escape the trap of those (NGO) people: they use food as bait to get you to sex with them.”

The initial allegations gained widespread attention, both through the mainstream media and through NGOs. Much less attention, however, has been paid since to efforts to address the problem. One such effort is the Building Safer Organizations project, an initiative hosted by the International Council of Voluntary Agencies (ICVA) and devoted to increasing awareness of standards relating to how NGOs can appropriately respond to allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation and develop institutional capacity to conduct investigations.

The Building Safer Organizations project builds on the follow up work and recommendations of the Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC) of the United Nations. In the aftermath of the original report and an official investigation undertaken by the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), IASC formed a task-force which worked with the UN Secretary-General to develop his Bulletin (see below) as well as terms of reference for in country focal points and networks.

The UN Addresses Sexual Exploitation

Following the UNHCR/Save the Children report, the UN’s Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) was tasked with carrying out an investigation. The OIOS mandate, however, was carefully circumscribed. It was limited to consideration of the situation of refugees in three countries in West Africa, it excluded internally displaced persons from its consideration, and focused on abuse by UN staff, rather than that of NGO workers.

The report concluded that while most of the allegations in the report could not be substantiated (for example, because the individuals involved could not be located or because they were based on second hand or misconstrued information), the problem of sexual abuse and exploitation was a serious one. Numerous new cases were identified. Although the OIOS report stressed that many of the allegations in the original report were overstated, it also pointed out that conditions in the camps facilitated sexual abuse and exploitation. It recommended that NGOs and UN agencies review their distribution procedures to discourage exploitation, increase visibility and monitoring in the camps and define common codes of conduct and reporting mechanisms.

The UN Secretary-General’s Bulletin on “Special measures for protection from sexual exploitation and sexual abuse,” issued in October 2003, was an attempt to respond to the recommendations of the OIOS and to elaborate a code of conduct for the entire UN system. The Bulletin was designed to set out the UN’s policy towards its own staff, contractors and partner agencies with respect to sexual abuse and exploitation. It clarifies the definitions of sexual abuse and exploitation and unambiguously declares that this behavior constitutes misconduct within the UN system. It may constitute grounds for disciplinary action, including summary dismissal.

The Secretary-General’s Bulletin in particular prohibits sexual activity by UN staff with individuals under the age of 18, regardless of how the age of consent or majority is defined locally. It also forbids the exchange of money, employment, goods or services for sex. The Bulletin further discourages any relationship between beneficiaries and UN staff, pointing out that these relationships are based on inherently unequal power relationships and therefore undermine the credibility of the institution. These standards extend to all NGOs and their staff working in contractual relationships with the UN.

Bringing Common Standards and Practices to the NGO Community

The definition of common standards within the UN and their replication in the codes of conduct of some NGOs is a commendable step towards a creating a common framework for understanding and responding to the problem. The Building Safer Organizations project, however, recognizes that once these standards are embraced by NGOs in addition to UN agencies, they need to be reinforced through appropriate enforcement mechanisms. This need was also clearly recognized by the OIOS report, which recommended that UNHCR and its implementing partners put in place clear procedures and guidelines for the investigation of sexual exploitation of refugees and other related conduct.

The Building Safer Organizations project has therefore focused on helping to develop internal complaints mechanisms and enhancing the capacity of NGOs to investigate and respond to allegations of abuse by members of their own staff. The project has created learning programs for investigators and their managers with a view to setting common standards for investigations. Course materials (which will be translated from English into French and Arabic by May 2006) are also available. A handbook on investigations will also be made available in both printed form and on the ICVA website (www.icva.ch).

The materials created by the project have been developed through ongoing collaboration with NGOs, and “field-testing” in a series of trainings for NGO staff investigators and managers. The project has already convened workshops in four countries ( Kenya, Senegal, Thailand and Egypt) which included more than 130 participants from over 40 NGOs.

In the next phase of the project, the focus will turn on disseminating the materials and creating mechanisms to institutionalize the work of the project within all those organizations working on the ground.

For more information, contact Ms. Katharina Samara-Wickrama at katharina_at_icva.ch.