Stephanie Nebehay and Hereward Netherlands

GENEVA, (Reuters) – The U.S. is putting pressure on the World Health Organization’s head to quickly respond to a damning report about a sexual assault scandal which has engulfed the organization and other aid agencies in Democratic Republic of Congo.

A Tuesday independent report revealed that over 80 WHO workers had been involved in sexual abuse during the Ebola outbreak in eastern Congo.

Tedros Adhanom Gebreyesus, WHO chief, initiated the probe. This was in response to an investigation that had been conducted last year by Thomson Reuters (NYSE:) Foundation & The New Humanitarian, in which over 50 women claimed that aid workers with the WHO or other agencies demanded sex in return for their jobs in 2018-2025.

A week after closing the period for nominating next WHO director-general, the report of the commission was published. It was delayed by one month because of new allegations and a wider investigation.

The United States is leading a consortium of WHO major donors in releasing a statement outlining their expectations. They also call for WHO and Tedros swift action. Several Western diplomats said that this was being done by Reuters. One diplomat said that the U.S. was leading.

Tedros received wide support to be renominated for a second term of five years. He was officially nominated on September 23 by 17 EU member countries, including France and Germany, and backed in part by other nations, diplomats said to Reuters. He is also supported by the United States, they claimed.

Due to the Tigray conflict friction, his native Ethiopia did not support him in his bid for re-election. Europe was left to officially nominate him. Diplomats confirmed that he is expected to remain in office despite the scandal.

The WHO regulations require that the envelopes remain sealed up to Oct. 29. It is possible for a country to nominate another candidate in May’s election.

Western diplomats expressed concern about WHO’s “management failure” in the face of the Congolese sexual violence. They criticised middle managers, but Tedros, the highest echelon of WHO staff, was not directly or indirectly linked to any.

The report was so poor. It seems to be clear him, and the senior management even by their names,” a Western diplomat explained to Reuters. “Tedros must do his bit and demonstrate leadership. He should also take immediate action.”

Another diplomat from the West told Reuters that it was sobering to read, almost like a flashback to an earlier era. Her comments were: “I don’t doubt Tedros is determined to deal with it.”

France issued a statement asking Tedros to honor his promise to submit within 10 days an action plan to address the recommendations of the inquiry.

Tedros visited Congo fourteen times during Ebola’s epidemic. On Tuesday, he said that nobody has made these allegations. Again, Tedros pledged that he had “zero tolerance” for the sexual exploitation of others and apologized to those who were hurt but refused to state whether he might resign.

A senior official in Kenya’s foreign ministry dismissed the notion that his government would withdraw its support for Tedros’ re-nomination.

“Really? Isn’t that a little silly?” Macharia Kamau, principal secretary in Kenya’s foreign ministry, said in a text message when asked if Kenya’s stance on Tedros had changed due to the revelations.

Okello Oryem was Uganda’s minister of state for foreign affairs. He stated to Reuters that Tedros “is an African candidate” that Uganda would continue its support.

“The allegations made by these NGOs come from Western countries. Tedros might not be welcome by all of them. He said that it could be an attempt by Western countries to deny Africa the position.

“Tedros is not liable for what happened in Congo thousands of miles away.”

U.N. IMMUNITY

It was found that 21 of the 83 suspected perpetrators were employees of WHO. Nine of the allegations of rape were also committed by international and national staff.

UNICEF spokesperson said it is seeking out information from other agencies about the abuse of aid workers, but refused to say whether any UNICEF staff members were involved.

He stated that “we remain firm in our determination to end sexual abuse and exploitation in the aid industry, to provide victims assistance and to hold perpetrators responsible.”

Jean-Jacques Mbungani Mbanda (Congo’s Health Minister) stated in a statement, that authorities now had to hold accountable all those who are believed to have committed these reprehensible actions.

One former UN senior official working in Congo during Ebola was quoted as saying: “They should get fired, removed from UN immunity and turned over to national prosecutor authorities. They are guilty of crimes committed in the country they work for and should be punished accordingly.

It’s an epidemic problem at the UN, so it doesn’t affect only the WHO and Tedros. It happens in all types of Congo deployments. People get away with sexual exploitation.

The majority of UN staff enjoy functional immunity. This means that they cannot be brought to trial for any work they’ve done. However, the secretary general has the authority to lift that immunity “if it would impede justice’s course”.

According to the first Western diplomat, DNA samples had been taken. It is my hope that there will be evidence for me to continue the investigation.

The activists claimed that harassment and sexual abuse were widespread in Congo, and demanded reforms. Many incidents have occurred in recent years of UN peacekeepers allegedly abusing sexually minorities in various African missions.

Sexual abuse against women to obtain employment or benefits seems to be common in DRC. This includes the public administration, schools, churches and colleges, as well as the private sector. Jean-Mobert Senga (Amnesty International researcher for DR Congo) said it’s the same in the UN, local NGOs, as well as international NGOs.

“…WHO and other UN institutions should now implement the report’s recommendations and take any step necessary to prevent such abuses from happening again, in DRC or elsewhere,” he said.