Англи, Уэльсийн Буяны байгууллагын комисс Йемен дэх үйл ажиллагааны удирдлагын алдаа дутагдал, ажилтнуудын эрсдэлтэй нөхцөл байдлыг үл тоомсорлосон зэрэг асуудлаар тус олон улсын байгууллагад албан ёсны анхааруулга хүргүүлжээ.
Хоёр жил үргэлжилсэн мөрдөн шалгах ажиллагаа нь 2023 оны аравдугаар сард Йемений эрх баригчдад баривчлагдсаныхаа дараа нас барсан тус байгууллагын аюулгүй байдал хариуцсан захирал Хишам аль-Хакимигийн хэргийн дараа эхэлсэн байна. Комиссын дүгнэлтээр, байгууллагын удирдлага сул байсны улмаас ажилтнууд аюулгүй байдлын бодит эрсдэлээс хамгаалагдаагүй төдийгүй ажилтнуудын зүй бус үйлдлийг таслан зогсоох арга хэмжээ аваагүй болох нь тогтоогджээ. Мөн дотоод шалгалтаар тус оффис дахь ажлын байрны сөрөг уур амьсгал нь ажилтнуудыг тусгаарлагдмал байдалд оруулж, гомдол мэдээллийг зохих журмын дагуу шийдвэрлээгүй нь илэрсэн байна.
Save the Children олон улсын байгууллага комиссын дүгнэлтийг хүлээн зөвшөөрч, 2024 оноос хойш Йемен дэх удирдлагын бүтцэд өөрчлөлт оруулж, хяналт болон ажилтнуудын аюулгүй байдлын дэмжлэгийг сайжруулсан гэдгээ мэдэгдлээ. Тус байгууллага аюулгүй байдлын үүднээс Йемений хойд хэсэгт байрлах оффисоо хааж, хоригдож буй ажилтнуудын асуудлаар холбогдох ажиллагааг үргэлжлүүлж байна. Одоогийн байдлаар Йемений Хути босогчид болон Саудын Арабын дэмжлэгтэй засгийн газрын хүчний хоорондох мөргөлдөөний улмаас тус улсад хүмүүнлэгийн нөхцөл байдал хүндэрч, олон мянган хүн дүрвэж, эрүүл мэндийн тогтолцоо нуран унаад байгаа юм.
Дэлгэрэнгүйг эх сурвалжаас харах
↓Эх сурвалжийг нээх ↓
The international aid charity Save the Children has been issued with an official regulatory warning over management failures and misconduct that put staff at its Yemen office at serious risk.
The warning concluded a two-year investigation by the Charity Commission for England and Wales into the running of the office after the death of its safety and security director, Hisham al-Hakimi, in October 2023 after he was detained by the Yemeni authorities.
The commission said weak governance meant staff at the Yemen office were not properly safeguarded in response to what it called a “live security concern”, and incidents of poor conduct by staff were not addressed.
The warning letter refers to “substantial policy breaches and a lack of accountability” at the office, and said local charity bosses failed to adequately assess and escalate complaints and reports made by whistleblowers.
An internal Save the Children investigation in 2024 after the death of Al-Hakimi found a “negative working culture” in the Yemen office had left staff “disillusioned and marginalised”.
It apologised to staff after admitting it had let them down by failing to properly appreciate the risks facing them amid the deteriorating security situation in the country.
In a statement to the Guardian, Save the Children International said that since 2024 it had made significant changes under new leadership in Yemen to strengthen oversight, improve support for staff and rebuild trust. The charity has closed its north Yemen office because of security concerns.
It said despite its best efforts to understand the circumstances around Al-Hakimi’s detention and his death the challenges in Yemen meant it may never know what happened and why. Another Save the Children member of staff is understood to currently be in detention.
The commission’s warning comes amid a growing humanitarian crisis in Yemen, where the charity has been providing emergency medical help, shelter and drinking water to displaced families.
Official warnings are relatively rare, and are issued when the commission decides breaches of trust or mismanagement in a charity put its staff or beneficiaries at risk. They can be issued where charity trustees are deemed to have acted recklessly or without proper care.
The commission ordered Save the Children International to ensure sufficient resources are in place to safeguard and protect staff and other individuals working with the charity.
Stephen Roake, assistant director for high-risk compliance at the commission, said: “It can be incredibly difficult for charities operating in high-risk, volatile environments and we know that circumstances can change rapidly. However, it is for this very reason that trustees must ensure they have sufficient oversight of their overseas operations.”
In a statement, Save the Children International said it had accepted the commission’s findings of serious shortcomings in governance, management, oversight and compliance with policies and procedures in the Yemen office at the time.
Since 2024, it had installed new leadership in Yemen to strengthen oversight, improve staff support and rebuild trust. It had also introduced detention risk assessments, taken steps to improve incident management procedures, and strengthened crisis management.
It said: “We remain committed to learning from this tragedy and ensuring a safe, supportive environment for our colleagues.
“We will continue to work closely with the Charity Commission to address any outstanding matters, while continuing to support our colleagues in Yemen and deliver for children in extremely challenging contexts.”
Save the Children’s Yemen office warned last week that the country faced a “catastrophic humanitarian situation” as a result of escalating conflict, collapsing health services and outbreaks of disease.
More than 1,000 people have been killed or wounded, and tens of thousands displaced by fighting in recent weeks between the Iran-aligned Houthis and the Saudi-backed Yemeni government forces.
