Reforms Target Child Sex Abuse by Aid Workers
Originally published by Reuters, June 28, 2002
WASHINGTON (Reuters) — Humanitarian groups on Friday called for urgent steps to protect the world's displaced youths, saying child sex abuse by aid workers constitutes "a global problem of enormous magnitude."
In a new report, InterAction, which represents 160 US-based international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations, said it found many reasons why displaced children are vulnerable to abuse but "no excuses."
The group formed a task force to study the problem last March after the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Save the Children-UK alleged that displaced children in three West African nations were sexually exploited by aid workers, sometimes in exchange for food.
InterAction concluded that abuse "is a global problem of enormous magnitude" because nearly half of the world's estimated 37.5 million refugees and internally displaced persons are children, the report said.
"The sexual exploitation of displaced children by humanitarian workers constitutes intolerable abuse of power, violation of the rights of individual children, misuse of humanitarian assistance and violation of the fundamental duty of humanitarian workers to assist refugee and displaced populations, especially children," the report said.
It called for humanitarian organizations over the next 6 months to adopt or revise codes of conduct underscoring that aid employees will be held to the highest professional standards.
The groups should strengthen their training programs and emphasize that sexual exploitation by aid workers is gross misconduct and grounds for firing.
They must put in place better accountability mechanisms—covering supervision, reporting and disciplinary action—to deter and deal with suspected abuse and create monitoring mechanisms to determine when abuse is occurring, the report said.
UN agencies, donor governments and other international actors involved with refugees and displaced persons also must act, InterAction said.
It recommended joint monitoring teams at the refugee camp, country or regional level and improvements in the design and management of the camps, including adding more protection officers and managers, especially women.
Only a limited number of UNHCR protection officers and trained managers from humanitarian aid groups are in the camps, especially at night.
InterAction CEO Mary McClymont said the task force believes "full implementation of these recommendations will help mitigate the conditions in which the displaced are made so vulnerable."
