Two experts appointed by World Health Organization to investigate allegations of sexual abuse of women during an Ebola epidemic in Congo dismissed their own attempts to justify the U.N. agency’s handling of such misconduct on Monday as “an absurdity”, saying they were not satisfied with the fact that no senior officials had been fired.
Some of the victims say that nearly four years after the incident, they are still waiting on the WHO to punish those responsible or offer them financial compensation.
Aichatou mindaoudou, and Julienne lusenge will be appointed by Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General in October 2020 to lead a panel that will investigate reports of sexual abuse or exploitation of women by some WHO staffers during the Ebola outbreak in 2018-2020.
The review found that at least 83 perpetrators worked for WHO and its partners. These included complaints of rapes, forced abortions, and the sexual abuse of a 13 year-old girl. This is the largest known sex abuse case in the history of the U.N. agency.
The panel also found three WHO managers had mismanaged a sexual abuse case, first reported by Associated Press. It involved a U.N. physician signing a contract for a woman he allegedly conceived.
A confidential U.N. Report submitted to WHO last Month concluded that the managers’ handling in that case did not violate WHO’s sexual abuse policies because the woman was not considered a beneficiary of WHO assistance since she received no humanitarian aid.
Mindaoudou & Lusenge stated in a press release that the WHO’s restrictive approach is absurd. They added that any gaps in the policies should be weighed to the victim’s benefit in order to hold the agency accountable.
Anifa, an Ebola patient from the northeastern Congo, claimed she was offered a job with a WHO doctor in exchange for sex. She was still traumatized after this experience.
She asked, “How many times must I speak before the WHO doctors responsible for sexual abuse are punished?” “If WHO doesn’t take radical measures, then we will conclude that WHO has been rotten by the rapists.”
Anifa, who did not share her last name out of fear of reprisals said that she didn’t anticipate any financial compensation from WHO. She explained that “money won’t erase the wounds in my heart.”
Tedros, the WHO chief, has repeatedly stated that the agency has a policy of “zero tolerance” for sexual misconduct.
Mindaoudou a former Nigerian government minister and Lusenge a Congolese human rights activist, both criticized WHO’s efforts to avoid accountability and questioned its willingness to eliminate sexual abuse.
“We are not satisfied,” the AP reported. “The ‘zero-tolerance policy’ does mean engaging in subterfuge” to ensure that no one is accountable for sexual abuse and exploitation.
The WHO did no respond to numerous requests for comment Monday.
Paula Donovan who is the co-leader of Code Blue, a group that seeks to hold the U.N. responsible for sexual crimes, said that it was striking how openly criticised the WHO by experts appointed by them.
She said, “Two brave African women exposed the sky-high tolerance for misogyny at the top of WHO.” “Now, it’s up the governments to launch an independent investigation into WHO’s leaders. Starting with Dr. Tedros. To root out the poison that is infecting WHO, they must do so.”
Tedros was “outraged”, and warned that anyone found guilty of the abuse would face serious consequences, when allegations of sexual abuse and exploitation were reported in the media in September 2020. Dr. Michael Ryan, WHO’s chief of emergencies, claimed that the agency had “absolutely” no details about the abuse.
The internal U.N. Report noted that Tedros had been informed of sexual abuse claims in 2019. It also noted that senior WHO staff discussed some cases of alleged misconduct shortly after they happened.
The WHO refused to comment on an internal U.N. document and created a new division to prevent misconduct following the Congo sex abuse incident. Dr. Gaya Gamhewage who heads this work told U.N. Investigators that before being appointed “sexual abuse and exploitation were not familiar terms for her.”
Tedros announced earlier this month that a $2 million fund had been established to assist survivors of sexual abuse. However, it is unclear how many women received assistance.
Jeanette, who claims she was impregnated while working at a Butembo Ebola centre by a WHO doctor, claimed she was forced to have an abortion which nearly killed. She said that she is waiting on the WHO to punish her doctor for her pregnancy, and has not received any offers of financial compensation.
She said, “I don’t feel like working since the abortion.” “WHO staffers are liars, freeloaders, and flatterers.”
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