European Union Suspends Funding For WHO Due To Sexual Harassment Scandal In Congo

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres inspects the Ebola treatment facility at the Mangina Ebola Treatment Centre, Congo. (Wikimedia Commons/MONUSCO Photos)

JAKARTA - The European Commission has suspended funding for a World Health Organization (WHO) program in the Democratic Republic of Congo, due to concerns over the UN agency's handling of the sexual harassment scandal.

The 7 October letter from the Commission marked "SENSITIVE", seen by Reuters, notified WHO of the immediate suspension of financing for five WHO programmes, including Ebola and COVID-19 operations.

The total amount of funds is more than 20.7 million euros, equivalent to 24.02 million United States dollars or around Rp. 343,536,571,134.

The Commission, in an emailed statement to Reuters in Brussels, confirmed the move, saying it expected partners to have "strong safeguards in place to prevent such unacceptable incidents, as well as to act decisively in such situations".

"The Commission has temporarily suspended payments and will refrain from granting new funding in relation to humanitarian activities carried out by WHO in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. This move does not affect EU funding for WHO operations elsewhere," he explained, citing Reuters on October 29.

WHO officials contacted separately for comment did not immediately respond.

The suspension of EU funding increases diplomatic pressure on the WHO and its director general, Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, to take further action on documented abuses and management negligence, and to prevent them from happening again anywhere.

About 83 aid workers, a quarter of whom are employed by the WHO, engaged in coercion and sexual harassment during Congo's 10th Ebola epidemic, an independent commission said last month. The report cited nine counts of rape.

Tedros, who is widely believed to be seeking a second five-year term in May, has directed the global response to COVID-19, the worst public health crisis in a century. But major donors led by the United States and Germany have demanded fundamental reforms to its ability to deal with the outbreak and scandal.

WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. (Wikimedia Commons/MONUSCO Photos)

A copy of the EU letter was sent to the Code Blue Campaign, part of the Aids-free World, a watchdog group that aims to end impunity for sexual abuses by UN civilian and military personnel.

The European Commission letter, addressed to Tedros, voiced "extreme concern" at the "magnitude of the findings".

The letter seeks assurances that the victims have been protected and compensated; details of the WHO recruitment process in Congo including background checks; WHO actions to ensure suspected perpetrators are not rehired by the United Nations or aid groups; and an independent review of "individual responsibility within WHO for negligence in handling allegations and evidence".

"In light of the gravity of the reported situation, the Commission hereby suspends all payments relevant to activities carried out by your organization in the Democratic Republic of the Congo," it read.

The European Commission awaits the WHO's response within 30 days and said Brussels would then take another 30 days to decide whether to resume payments or confirm the suspension for another 30 days. Meanwhile, no new funding will be provided to WHO for activities in Congo, he added.

Separately, the WHO last week unveiled its plans to prevent further misconduct by aid workers deployed in its field operations, vowing to ensure the scandal will serve as a "catalyst for the deep transformation of WHO culture".

Dr. Gaya Gamhewage, WHO's acting director of prevention and response to sexual exploitation, abuse and harassment, told Reuters in an interview that more women had reported sexual exploitation and abuse by aid workers during the Ebola crisis from 2018-20.

He repeated that, referring the rape allegations to national authorities for investigation and said that WHO sent all 83 case files to UN investigators in New York for action regarding employees of all agencies.

Meanwhile, Paula Donovan, co-director of the AIDS-Free World and its Code Blue Campaign, said in a statement this month, after the WHO's management response plan was released that the agency failed to catch most of the perpetrators.

“This is a huge step backwards. The WHO treats the dozens of violent crimes it accuses of its own high-ranking personnel and officials as simple violations of UN rules. If the government let the UN get away with it, it would be a solid victory for UN impunity.

"The whole process reinforces the false notion that senior UN personnel and officials are above the law," he stressed.