Press releases

Dr. Juan Alberto Fuentes Knight today stepped down as the Chair of the Board of Supervisors of Oxfam International after being presented with charges dating back to his time as Guatemala's finance minister.

Oxfam does not yet know the nature of formal charges, if any, against Dr. Fuentes Knight. He has assured us that he has cooperated fully with the investigation in the confidence he did not knowingly transgress rules or procedures.

Penny Lawrence today resigned as Deputy Chief Executive of Oxfam Great Britain. Lawrence was Program Director at the time of the sexual misconduct in Chad.

Let us be clear: their behavior was and still is totally unacceptable – an appalling mark against the high values we set for ourselves at Oxfam.

We are appalled that individuals found guilty of sexual misconduct in Haiti were unwittingly employed by other aid agencies. We strongly believe that anyone engaged in such reprehensible behavior should be barred from working with vulnerable communities.

Oxfam's priority is to stand fully by the survivors of such reprehensible behavior - and to ensure that such behavior is absolutely rooted out of our organization. We stand firmly against the exploitation and abuse of women and girls.

The publication of a new set of corporate tax principles by The B Team, a coalition of progressive business leaders, was welcomed by Oxfam today. The principles have been endorsed by companies such as Allianz, Unilever and Vodafone Group Plc.

Following the Paradise Papers revelations, the European Parliament decided today to establish a new special committee on tax fraud, tax evasion, money laundering, tax avoidance and aggressive tax planning. 

Refugees and residents in the Afrin district of Syria are trapped between warring parties on the border with Turkey without any protection or proper medical supplies.

Oxfam applauded donor countries for stepping up their financial pledges, the new countries contributing for the first time, and developing countries that promised to invest even more into their own education systems.