ATHENS, Jun 1 – Greek officials are investigating allegations that two members of a US aid agency sexually exploited refugees, local press reported Thursday. The European Commission said it was taking the allegations against the US agency Mercy Corps “very seriously” and had suspended its funding.
Mercy Corps itself said it had put the two staffers concerned on temporary paid leave after getting a call to its complaints hotline. “We are taking this situation very seriously and have reported the allegation to Greek authorities as well as to the funders of our program,” it added in a statement issued Tuesday.
The allegations were first revealed in mid-May by the office of the European Commission for Humanitarian Affairs, Christos Stylianides. At that time a Commission spokesman spoke of “potentially serious allegations concerning a humanitarian project led by a partner in Greece”, without naming the agency involved.
The Commission had suspended its funding to the agency pending the results of the investigation, the spokesman added. Mercy Corps is of the many NGOs working in Greece with the help of European funding to help the tens of thousands of refugees and migrants blocked from moving further into Europe. Many of them have fled the conflict in Syria. — AFP
