World Health
Assembly, Post Conference:
Protection
from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA)
13 June 2012, after the IASC event on PSEA at the UN
in Geneva.
“It was powerful, relevant, disturbing, and sicko.”
*****
The only thing needed for evil to prosper is for good people to do
nothing...
or to do some ‘thing’ and then to move on.
.
Life continues after the many conferences
that we all attend. The post-conference challenge is to get back
into ones usual work and to implement all of the commitments and plans that one
makes while gathered together. This post-conference challenge is true
for us after having attended parts of the remarkable 65th World Health
Assembly (WHA) held at the UN in Geneva.
.
Not surprisingly, we were back at the UN in early June. We
attended a three-hour event sponsored by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee
(IASC, a major coordinator for humanitarian assistance). The topic was the Protection from Sexual
Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA), emphasizing the IASC member organizations’ efforts
to deal with this reality (SEA) in their operations. Many thanks to the ISAC for
all their hard work to organize this event! We were warned that it would likely
be disturbing, and judging by the looks on our faces after the event (as in the
photo above--hard to really smile), the warning was accurate!
The event featured the screening of the movie, The Whistleblower. This movie is “based on the experiences of Kathryn
Bolkovac, a Nebraska cop who served as a peacekeeper in post-war Bosnia and
outed the U.N. for covering up a sex scandal.” Bolkovac, played by Rachel Weisz,
“finds herself confronting a 'dangerous reality of corruption, cover-up and
intrigue amid a world of private contractors and multinational diplomatic
double-talk'. A fictionalised account inspired by actual events, the movie
deals with issues both real and abhorrent: human trafficking, violence against
women and cross-border organised crime. United Nations peacekeepers and staff
are portrayed as turning a blindeye to, or worse, actually being complicit in
these crimes.” The Whistleblower premiered in September 2010 at the Toronto
International Film Festival. Click here for the movie trailer.
.
What
Happened?
The IASC event was moderated by Arafat Jamal, Chief, IASC Secretariat,
with some very sobering and informative opening remarks by Mr. William Lacey
Swing, the Director General of the International Organisation for Migration (who
oversaw the UN peacekeeping effort in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from
2003-2007 when major sexual scandals were surfacing that nearly crippled the UN’s
operations there).
.
Four panelists actively involved in the humanitarian sector responded
to the movie. In addition, Madeleine Rees contributed many helpful insights,
the former human rights lawyer in Bosnia who was played in the movie by Vanessa
Redgrave. They all poignantly discussed
issues raised in the film as well as current initiatives to strengthen PSEA,
especially organizational, leadership and individual responsibility. Participants
also contributed through the engaging time of discussion. The panelists:
.
Ms. Beris Gwynne, Director World Vision Geneva, Leader for
Global Accountability
Ms. Marie Elseroad, International Medical Corps, Co-Chair of the
IASC Task Force on PSEA
Mr. Ngonlardje-Kabra Mbaidjol, UNHCR Director Ethics
Ms. Lauren Landis, Director WFP Geneva, WFP Senior Focal Point
on PSEA
.
Some key
comments and some take-aways (from movie and presenters):
If we
don’t do PSEA well then it will negatively affect all that we do.
.
.
PSEA in differnt forms exists in places where there are peacekeepers (e.g., food for sex and human traafficking). It is not just in the more publicized places (West Africa, DRC, Bosia). The protectors become the predators.
.
We need
to mobilize more courageous leadership on this issue.
.
We need
role models who are beyond reproach.
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A major
challenge is confronting the organizational architecture of impunity.
.
We need
safe places for honest conversations.
.
Our
organization is dealing with this issue---top-down, bottom-up, and end to
end.
.
.
.
.
Unless
you go public, the darkness will never see the light of day.
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To date, there has been no prosecutions of the people involved in the events depicted in this movie.
.
I would
do it again [whistleblow to protect vulnerable people in spite of grave risks/consequences]. Yes, without
a doubt.
.
Updates on PSEA in the UN and Related Personnel
1. The Senior IASC Focal
Points.
At their December 2011 IASC Principals meeting, IOM agreed to
facilitate an initiative to provide new momentum to addressing the issue of
PSEA within IASC organizations. Under the leadership of the IOM Director-General,
each IASC organization has nominated senior PSEA Focal Points which met to
discuss progress in addressing PSEA within their respective organizations.
.
2. The IASC Task Force on
PSEA
The IASC Task Force is the venue for collaboration among all IASC
members (UN, NGO, IOM and International Federation of the Red Cross/Red
Crescent) with objectives to strengthen leadership, support field offices and
assist agencies in incorporating PSEA based strategies. The objectives of the IASC Task Force are:
.
1. Don’t think that this stuff cannot happen in mission/aid —that
is, having to deal with all types of corruption such as SEA, and including confronting
leaders, organizational culture, and unethical and illegal practices, as well
as whistleblowers (leaders, staff ,and external folks) committed to the core
values of an organization experiencing the consequences of such confrontation.
2. One example, similar to this movie, more on the extreme end
of the corruption and confrontation continuum, is the movie All God’s Children (2008). "Through the eyes
of three families, All God’s Children tells the personal story of the
first boarding school for children of missionaries to be investigated for abuse
at the hands of the parents’ missionary colleagues [in Mamou, Guinea, run by
the Christian and Missionary Alliance]. The survivors and parents share their
journey of seeking justice, redemption and healing. Through the eyes of three
families…Cut off from their families for 9 months out of the year and without
any reliable means of communication, the children quietly suffered emotional,
spiritual, physical and/or sexual abuse at the hands of the all-missionary
staff. It took the children decades to acknowledge the effects the abuses had
on their lives. When they finally dared to break the silence and speak out, the
Church denied all allegations and refused to help. But through years of persistent
activism the survivors and their parents finally compelled the Christian and
Missionary Alliance to conduct an investigation and acknowledge the abuses. The
healing could begin. The investigation of the Mamou Alliance Academy was the
first of its kind but has since inspired investigations at other schools of
many different denominations” (description
from the website). Click
here to watch the movie trailer; Click here to
watch the movie (free online).
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3. We cannot help but think of the current and protracted case regarding
the international NCI fraud, characterized by the abuse of trust, stealing
millions of dollars, cover ups and wrongful dismissals by major organizations,
attempted impunity, and large scale apathy to do anything about it in the international
church and mission community (CMC), primarily the Evangelical CMC. Sadly, these
types of experiences are more prevalent than acknowledged and are NOT simply on the extreme end of the
corruption and confrontation continuum. For more information visit the PETRA People website, the
PETRA People weblog, and the
PETRA
People petition site (Shine the Light—Together).
.
More
Info and Resources
2. Keeping
Children Safe Coalition provides free online resources and training
materials (Toolkit) for organizations working with children as well as the
children of staff (the video enactments in the Toolkit are especially helpful).
3. MCA
Resource Update on Member Character (July 2012) including the link to quotes related
to character and organizational health from the book Transparency: How Leaders Create a Culture of Candor.
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Reflection
and Discussion
**Describe a few applications for MC as a field, for
your organization, and for yourself, based on the items/commentary above.
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