“Culture of fear”, “forced abortions”… A report overwhelms the international NGO SOS Children’s Villages

It is a report without appeal which was published this Wednesday, June 7. From Latin America to Asia, the international NGO SOS Children’s Villages has covered up numerous cases of sexual violence and corruption since the 1980s. In an interview with AFP, its director general Ingrid Johansen referred to a document “difficult to read for our staff” but testifying to a desire to “extensive transparency”.

Upon her arrival in 2021 at the head of the organization, the Scandinavian manager undertook to “repair past mistakes” and scramble to regain donor confidence. In this process « d’introspection »an independent audit was entrusted to a team led by Willy Mutunga, a former Chief Justice of Kenya.

Objective: to shed light on a series of cases of abuse that emerged within the structure, founded in 1949 in Austria to help orphans and children who do not benefit from adequate care by their families. With 2.5 million minors and their relatives registered in 137 countries and territories in 2022, SOS Children’s Village presents itself as “the largest organization in the world” why type

“We confirm serious allegations of violence”

The 10-member commission of inquiry visited a dozen countries, consulted thousands of archival documents and conducted 188 interviews with victims, former officials and current supervisors. Over the course of a 262-page report, a damning list emerges.

“We confirm serious allegations of violence” committed on minors in several countries, can we read in this text consulted by AFP. “Many cases of child pregnancies” resulting in particular from rape have been documented, young girls having suffered “forced abortions” without the “consent of the families is established”.

In Nepal, a generous donor was welcomed into a center, “against the rules”and committed sexual assaults on children between 2010 and 2014. One of them was even sent to Austria to visit him.

Scandals have been silenced, whistleblowers intimidated, evidence destroyed and authorities kept in the dark. In Panama, where the commission notes a “culture of fear”a victim was forced to retract before being placed in solitary confinement and then having to leave the scene.

In general, the report deplores “a desire to protect the organization” to the detriment of the interests of the child.

Children taken from their families

In addition to Nepal and Panama, investigators confirmed significant failures in Cambodia, Kenya, Sierra Leone and Syria. In this country, SOS Children’s Villages, one of the few NGOs that remained on site during the war, received from 2015 children forcibly separated from their families belonging to the opposition to Bashar al-Assad’s regime.

“They are now reunited with their loved ones and none of them are part of our programs anymore”affirms Ingrid Johansen.

More recently, the Russian branch of the NGO was suspended after the revelation in the press of accusations of taking care of Ukrainian children probably “deportees” by Moscow. “As this is a serious allegation, the measure will remain in place until we are 100% sure that everything is in order”underlines the director.

“The transformation has not been fully implemented”

Beyond the cases of mistreatment, the document details a “significant number” embezzlement, abuse of power, irregularities in the awarding of contracts sometimes relating to “millions of dollars”.

SOS Children’s Villages shows its desire to put everything back on a global level: a post of defender of rights has been created, more than half of the members of the management have been replaced and the reception centers have been reinforced.

Around 500 victims benefited from individualized psychological, logistical or financial support.

More “despite numerous reform initiatives, the transformation has not been fully implemented”deplores the report, some “norms of the old structure hindering the work of the new management”.