British aid agency Oxfam has come under fire after 26 of their agents were accused of hiring prostitutes during relief work following the 2010 earthquake that devastated the Caribbean nation of Haiti.
The British Parliament cut funding to Oxfam last week following the allegations that their aid staffers had engaged in sexual misconduct, three of whom were accused of threatening a witness to the liaisons with sex workers outside of the city of Port-au-Prince according to VOA News.
Both the British government and the European Union provided Oxfam with close to $45 million each in funding in 2017.
Oxfam International executive director Winnie Byanyima, along with other company directors, testified before the British parliament, where they profusely apologized for the sexual misconduct on Tuesday.
“This is about aligning our people with the values of Oxfam. Some hideous men came to our organization and abused the trust of the British people,” Byanyima said. “They support us. But they were able to get away, to get a recommendation to leave. This was wrong. So, we are going to change the culture.”
The revelations of illegal activity against Oxfam followed a report on the activities of the aid workers in 2011. Prime Minister Theresa May expressed outrage over the report, declaring in a statement, “We will not work with anybody who does not meet the high standards that we set and we believe are important.”
Besides Oxfam, other international organizations, such as Save the Children and Doctors Without Borders, have also come under scrutiny for allegedly allowing their aid workers to engage in illegal activities while working in third world countries.