How is Oxfam being held accountable over the Haiti scandal?

The recent allegations against Oxfam employees in Haiti sparked a series of reports about misconduct within major charities, which in turn raised serious questions about accountability in the NGO sector. Domenico Carolei looks at whether the systems of accountability that apply to British NGOs and charities working in poor countries are adequate and comprehensive

Is Civil Society Self-Regulation Effective? The case of Roman Third-Sector and "Mafia Capitale" Scandal

The purpose of this article is to measure the effectiveness of an exemplary civil society self-regulation against its own objectives, and to map out reasons behind non-compliance. It focuses on a checklist of indicators (CDV) developed by Italian Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) in the aftermath of the “Mafia Capitale” scandal when threatened by strict government regulation and by critical public opinion. Methodologically, this test of effectiveness is performed employing the blueprint designed by the One World Trust. To preview the outcome of this test of effectiveness, it will be concluded that self-regulation has been effective primarily in protecting the sector’s autonomy against hypothetical legislative interferences. Even if quantitative findings indicate a medium compliance rate, qualitative findings suggest that there can be many reasons behind non-compliance which sometimes do not depend entirely on CSO’s commitment to comply with voluntary standards. In this context, a distinction between objective and subjective reasons of non-compliance is drawn

Accountability beyond Corporations: The Applicability of the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises to Non-profit Organisations

The purpose of this article is to investigate the degree to which the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises – meant for businesses – apply to Non-Profit Organisations’ (NPOs) operations and accountability. Based on a legal analysis of complaints handled by the National Contact Points (NCPs) in Norway, Switzerland, and the United Kingdom against NPOs, this paper shows that OECD Guidelines apply to certain types of NPOs, even if these organisations are by nature non-profit. It presents three conditions under which the OECD Guidelines can apply to NPOs: first, the NPO needs to operate in at least two countries; second, it must operate within a signatory state of the OECD Guidelines; and third, the OECD Guidelines violation must have occurred in relation to the business-activity of the NPO

An International Ombudsman to make non-governmental organizations more accountable? Too good to be true …

In 2018, the Dutch Government proposed to establish an independent international ombudsman, known as the International Ombuds for Humanitarian and Development Aid (IOHDA), to hold non-governmental organizations (NGOs) accountable for their safeguarding and accountability failures, notably the Oxfam GB sexual abuse scandal in Haiti (March 2018) and in the Democratic Republic of Congo (April 2021). While establishing an international ombudsman would fill a regulatory and accountability gap in global governance, there are many legal and logistic challenges, some of which have been identified by the IOHDA proposal itself, that undermine the creation of this brand new body. Besides the legal and logistic challenges outlined in the proposal, this article argues that the IOHDA is unlikely to succeed because of three additional challenges. First, the IOHDA’s scope is too broad and misinterprets the ombudsman’s jurisdiction and traditional role. Second, the IOHDA neglects that existing ombudsman schemes present limitations in enacting accountability and does not learn any lessons from them. Third, the IOHDA lacks support from NGOs, a driving force, and the principal standard-setters for an international accountability mechanism, like the proposed ombudsman. This article provides a series of recommendations to mitigate these three challenges whilst identifying alternative routes to enact NGO accountability

Are Civil Society Organisations Accountable to their Beneficiaries?

This paper investigates the extent to which different type of Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) practice beneficiary accountability (transparency, participation, and complaints procedure) within their own structure. Geographically, it focuses on Italian CSOs. On methodological level, a multiple case study analysis has been carried out. In particular, five CSOs had been purposefully selected and twenty multiple interviews with CSO managers and key accountability stakeholders/beneficiaries were conducted to allow data triangulation. Research findings indicate that beneficiary accountability is performed differently by diverse CSOs and it appears weak, informal and inconsistent across case-studies, especially in relation to compliance procedure and direct means of participation: the latter are poorly implemented regardless of congenital differences among CSOs (e.g. size, type and nature)

Disorders of consciousness: Painless or painful conditions?-evidence from neuroimaging studies

The experience of pain in disorders of consciousness is still debated. Neuroimaging studies, using functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), Positron Emission Tomography (PET), multichannel electroencephalography (EEG) and laser-evoked potentials, suggest that the perception of pain increases with the level of consciousness. Brain activation in response to noxious stimuli has been observed in patients with unresponsive wakefulness syndrome (UWS), which is also referred to as a vegetative state (VS), as well as those in a minimally conscious state (MCS). However, all of these techniques suggest that pain-related brain activation patterns of patients in MCS more closely resemble those of healthy subjects. This is further supported by fMRI findings showing a much greater functional connectivity within the structures of the so-called pain matrix in MCS as compared to UWS/VS patients. Nonetheless, when interpreting the results, a distinction is necessary between autonomic responses to potentially harmful stimuli and conscious experience of the unpleasantness of pain. Even more so if we consider that the degree of residual functioning and cortical connectivity necessary for the somatosensory, affective and cognitive-evaluative components of pain processing are not yet clear. Although procedurally challenging, the particular value of the aforementioned techniques in the assessment of pain in disorders of consciousness has been clearly demonstrated. The study of pain-related brain activation and functioning can contribute to a better understanding of the networks underlying pain perception while addressing clinical and ethical questions concerning patient care. Further development of technology and methods should aim to increase the availability of neuroimaging, objective assessment of functional connectivity and analysis at the level of individual cases as well as group comparisons. This will enable neuroimaging to truly become a clinical tool to reliably investigate pain in severely brain-injured patients as well as an asset for research

Stroke in Young Adults in the Community-Based L'Aquila Registry

Background and Purpose —Stroke type in the young may influence the outcome and may have a dramatic impact on the quality of life in survivors. This study aimed to evaluate the incidence and prognosis of first-ever stroke in the young and to make comparisons with older patients within a well-defined population. Methods —All first-ever strokes occurring in the L'Aquila district, central Italy, were traced by active monitoring of inpatient and outpatient health services. Incidence rates were standardized to the 1996 European population according to the direct method. Long-term survival was estimated by the Kaplan-Meier method; outcome in survivors was evaluated by the modified Rankin scale. Results —Of 4353 patients who had a first-ever stroke, 89 patients 45 years of age were 2.4%, 13.3%, and 83.1%. Neuroimaging studies of the brain detected 14 intracranial aneurysms and 6 arteriovenous malformations in 20 of 38 patients (52.6%) with either subarachnoid (n=17) or intracerebral (n=3) hemorrhage. The crude annual incidence rate was 10.18/100 000 (95% CI, 8.14 to 12.57) and 10.23/100 000 when standardized to the 1996 European population. The 30-day case-fatality rate was 11.2% (95% CI, 6.2 to 19.4). Patients with subarachnoid hemorrhage had the highest proportion of good recovery (60%), patients with intracerebral hemorrhage had the highest mortality (44%), and patients with cerebral infarction had the highest proportion of severe disability (47%). Conclusions —Stroke patients <45 years of age showed a disproportionate cumulative high prevalence (42.7%) of subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage with respect to older patients (15.7%), mainly (52.6%) due to aneurysms and arteriovenous malformations. Therefore, screening procedures and preventive strategies in the young should also be addressed to subjects at risk of subarachnoid and intracerebral hemorrhage