LONDON: The landmine charity backed by Princess Diana was on Sunday dragged into the sector-wide sex scandal after apologizing for not properly investigating claims its staff paid prostitutes.
British-based Mines Advisory Group (Mag) admitted it had ignored allegations about the "habitual use" of prostitutes by aid workers in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC).
"In relation to generic allegations of habitual use of prostitutes by Mag staff in DRC it would seem these were not sufficiently followed up at the time as they should have been and we are very sorry about this," it said in a statement late Saturday.
A whistleblower at the charity said they had regularly witnessed members of staff with prostitutes and had told managers in the capital Kinshasa three times between 2011 and 2013.
Diana was the public champion of landmine charities and worked with Mag shortly before her death in a Paris car crash in 1997.
The claims come as part of a wider sex scandal in the charity sector, triggered by allegations that Oxfam staff exploited Haitians after a devastating 2010 earthquake.
The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday more than 20 staffers have left the organization since 2015 after "paying for sexual services."
Meanwhile, UNICEF's Deputy Director Justin Forsyth also resigned following complaints of inappropriate behavior towards female staff in his previous post as head of British charity Save The Children.
Diana-backed landmine charity embroiled in sex scandal
Diana-backed landmine charity embroiled in sex scandal
Minister walks out of film festival after accusations of German role in Gaza ‘genocide’
- Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib said the German government “are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel”
BERLIN: A German minister walked out of the awards ceremony of the Berlin Film Festival after a prize-winning director accused Germany of complicity in the “genocide” committed by Israel in Gaza.
Social Democratic Environment Minister Carsten Schneider left the ceremony on Saturday evening because of “unacceptable” remarks, his ministry said.
Syrian-Palestinian director Abdallah Al-Khatib, who picked up a prize for Best First Feature Award with his “Chronicles from the Siege,” said in his speech that the German government “are partners in the genocide in Gaza by Israel. I believe you are intelligent enough to recognize this truth.”
Schneider was the only member of the German government attending the ceremony though he was not representing it, his ministry told AFP.
The Ministry of Culture, contacted by AFP to find out the reason for the absence of its minister Wolfram Weimer, did not respond immediately.
A leading member of Chancellor Friedrich Merz’s conservative party, Alexander Hoffmann, denounced what he said were “repugnant scenes” of “antisemitic” during the ceremony.
“The accusations of genocide, the antisemitic outbursts, and the threats against Germany at the Berlinale are absolutely unacceptable,” Hoffmann, head of the Christian Social Union, the Bavarian party allied with Merz’s Christian Democratic Union, told the Bundestag.
The CDU mayor of Berlin Kai Wegner told newspaper Bild that “The open display of hatred toward Israel is in direct contradiction with what this festival represents.”
The backdrop of the conflict in the Middle East led to a tense 76th edition of the festival.
More than 80 film professionals criticized the Berlinale’s “silence” on the war in Gaza in an open letter, accusing the festival of censoring artists “who reject the genocide” they believe Israel has committed in Gaza.
Award-winning Indian writer Arundhati Roy withdrew from the festival after jury president Wim Wenders said cinema should “stay out of politics” when asked about Gaza.
