Displaying items by tag: abuse of authority

US secretary of state Mike Pompeo has urged Iranians to continue sending messages exposing the Iranian regime’s brutal crackdown on recent widespread protests; by some estimates, over 200 people have been killed. He stated the USA would impose sanctions on those it could identify for perpetrating abuses. ‘The Iranian people are, once again, on the streets because of the regime’s poor economic management,’ he said. ‘Instead of addressing their grievances, Tehran has responded with violence and by blaming those outside the country.’ Despite the Iranian regime's shutdown of the internet last week, the United States received 20,000 messages, videos and pictures from Iranians through a messaging service. ‘The United States hears you,’ Pompeo said. ‘We will continue to sanction Iranian officials who are responsible for these human rights abuses, just like we did to Iran’s minister of communications.’

A damning report from MPs said the aid sector is guilty of complacency verging on complicity over an ‘endemic’ sex abuse scandal’, and charities were more concerned to protect their reputation than victims. Safeguarding policies were never effectively implemented. Leaders were ‘self-deluded’, thinking they had addressed problems before they became public. MPs insisted more resources were needed to tackle the issue, and victims must be at the heart of solutions. Charities must ensure the beneficiaries of humanitarian aid have knowledge and confidence in their rights. An earlier report, by UNHCR and Save the Children, found it was mainly men in refugee camps who demanded sex in exchange for biscuits, soap, medicines, etc. Oxfam said the report was painful reading for the whole aid sector. ‘We have made mistakes handling historical sexual harassment complaints from staff in the UK - there is a great deal more to do’. An international summit in October will expect the sector to have demonstrated progress by then.