Press releases

The World Bank shouldn’t forget its goals to “end poverty and boost shared prosperity” as it increasingly relies on the private sector to finance development, Oxfam warned at the start of the institution’s Spring Meetings.

An international donor conference in Geneva today hopes to raise $1.7 billion to help more than 10 million people in desperate need across the Democtratic Republic of Congo - to date only 12 per cent of the UN appeal has been funded.

The European Commission has published a proposal on unfair trading practices in the EU food supply chain. Right now, supermarkets’ poor practices lead to insecurity among their suppliers, which directly impacts the most vulnerable people in the value chain. Oxfam and NGOs welcome this move, and call on the European Parliament and the Council to strengthen the Commission’s proposal.

The slight decrease in development aid spending in 2017 is bad news for the fight to end poverty and reduce inequalities, said Oxfam today in response to the publication of new aid figures by the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).

Oxfam has welcomed the generous pledges of $2 billion worth of aid to deal with the crisis in Yemen made today in Geneva.

This statement was read by Shane Stevenson, Oxfam’s Country Director in Yemen, on behalf of Oxfam and 21 other international NGOs currently working in Yemen.

INGOs are delivering life-saving humanitarian assistance to millions of vulnerable Yemenis, despite the complex and serious nature of the security situation and sustained bureaucratic access constraints.

Three years of war in Yemen: over 3 million people have been forced to flee their homes, the world’s largest cholera outbreak on record, and the country is teetering on the brink of famine. The world cannot continue to turn a blind eye to Yemen’s suffering.

Today's digital tax proposal could help bring EU tax rules into the 21st century, by updating them to the digital economy. However, the European Commission's short-term proposal will not stop tax dodging by big tech firms, and could delay the much-needed global long-term solution. 

Zainab Bangura, a former Under-Secretary General of the United Nations, and Katherine Sierra, a former Vice-President of the World Bank, will co-chair an Independent Commission on Sexual Misconduct, Accountability and Culture Change.

With a growing EU gray list of tax havens, the EU must make sure countries follow up on their commitments, or else blacklist them, Oxfam said.

The Swedish development agency Sida has announced their decision to go ahead with a new three year humanitarian partnership with Oxfam. The €10.2 million partnership arrangement will ensure over 280,000 people in more than five countries will receive critical humanitarian aid. 

The European Council has started to publish the commitments taken by countries to escape the EU blacklist of tax havens. Governments must now pressure all tax havens on the EU's grey list to make their commitments public, and the EU must ensure tax havens implement the reforms they have promised, or else blacklist them.

It is very good news that the European Commission seems ready to finally tackle harmful tax competition inside the European Union, Oxfam said in reaction to a report criticising seven EU member states for their aggressive tax policies. The organisation also welcomed the increased pressure on tax havens greylisted by the EU to make their reform commitments public.

As the two-year anniversary of the EU-Turkey deal nears on March 18, 2018, thousands of asylum seekers are trapped on the Aegean islands in deplorable conditions and without access to adequate protection and basic services, nine humans rights and humanitarian organisations including Oxfam said today.The Greek government should act immediately to end the containment policy that traps asylum seekers in these conditions on the islands and move them to safety on the mainland.

 

Billionaire fortunes have risen six times faster than the wages of ordinary workers since 2010. Our failing economies are enriching a wealth minority while millions of ordinary workers are struggling to survive on poverty pay.

 The government of Haiti announced today that it will suspend Oxfam Great Britain’s operations in the country for two months while it investigates how Oxfam GB handled the case of some staff having used sex workers during the agency’s humanitarian response in 2011.

Oxfam International Executive Director Winnie Byanyima appeared before the UK Parliament’s International Development Committee, with Oxfam GB’s Executive Director Mark Goldring and Chair of Trustees Caroline Thomson. "I have two priorities today: first, to make sure we never make the same mistakes again. Second, that our work of saving lives around the world goes on," said Byanyima.

Oxfam International Regional Director for Latin America, Simon Ticehurst, and Oxfam Intermon Executive Affiliate Unit head, Margalida Massot, met this afternoon on the request of Haiti’s Minister of Planning and External Cooperation Aviol Fleurant to begin clarifying the exact allegations and investigations into the abusive behaviors of some Oxfam staff during the organization’s humanitarian response to the 2010 earthquake. 

A full copy of Oxfam's final internal report into allegations of sexual misconduct and other unacceptable behaviour during Oxfam’s humanitarian response to the 2010 Haiti earthquake has been made public today.

An independent commission will be set up with immediate power to carry out a wide-ranging review of Oxfam’s practices and culture, including its handling of past cases of sexual misconduct. It comes as Oxfam announces a comprehensive plan of action to strengthen safeguarding systems across the organization, and stamp out abuse.