First of all, wishing a happy new year and sending a big thank you to you for signing our petition.

The good news is that the petition now has over 1,000 signatories. The less good news is that Oxfam seem determined to ‘tough it out’ and hope that the issue drops out of the media and they can continue as if nothing has happened. Meanwhile we have only had a holding reply from the Charity Commission. Given that Oxfam is not a membership organisation, there is no opportunity for supporters to hold the trustees to account at an AGM. This is why the Charity Commission must act: to ensure oversight of the trustees’ actions.

While we are of course concerned about the impact of Oxfam’s actions on one individual, Dr Halima Begum (and on the culture within the organisation more generally) we are primarily concerned about a charitable organisation whose board is demonstrating a catastrophic failure of governance.  Oxfam already has an inexcusable record of responding to whistleblowing (including a history of witnesses being threatened) and has responded to Halima’s whistleblowing complaint by, in the words of one of its own trustees: ‘apparently seeking to destroy Halima and her reputation’. This is wholly inconsistent with its public commitments and values, and such behaviour, if proven, puts the whole organisation and those who depend on it at risk. 

For Oxfam to deliver to its full potential, threats and victimisation of whistle-blowers must cease and the culture that allows such behaviour must be eradicated. We will have some updates soon, on what else you can do, but for now, can I urge you to reshare the details of the petition: https://www.change.org/Oxfam_Shame with your networks and urge people to sign.

Many thanks,

John Page