Crisis in Israel and Gaza
As conflict escalates, the urgent need for humanitarian assistance intensifies.
In October 2019, Mercy Corps and its Board requested that investigative firm Vestry Laight conduct an independent, external review into what steps were taken when reports of abuse by Mercy Corps’ late co-founder Ellsworth Culver were brought to the organization’s attention in 2018.
Also in late 2019, Mercy Corps engaged law firm Nichols Liu to conduct a separate review evaluating the organization’s sexual exploitation and abuse policies and their applicability to these circumstances. Both reviews were published by Mercy Corps on January 29, 2020.
In response to the Vestry Laight and Nichols Liu reports, Mercy Corps’ Board of Directors and Executive team announced commitments to action to restructure and strengthen legal, ethics and safeguarding functions, update policies and strengthen Board governance.
The commitments to action can be found here. We have fulfilled all 23 commitments to action, with a final report detailing the efforts made to address and close each commitment published in August 2023. The report can be found here in English, Spanish, French and Arabic. Mercy Corps’ annual Global Safeguarding Reports are also available on our website for FY 2022, FY 2021, FY 2020, and FY 2019 parts 1 and 2.
One of the commitments to action was to undertake a second phase independent, external investigation to determine the extent of the abuse perpetrated by Ellsworth Culver and any other abusers who might be identified, and to review the response of the Mercy Corps Board in 1992 and 1993 when the organization was first made aware of the abuse. That independent investigation was published in full by Mercy Corps on May 19, 2021. Please know that the report contains deeply disturbing details that may be traumatic and triggering, especially for survivors of abuse. A statement by the Mercy Corps Board of Directors in response to the Freeh Group report was also published on May 19, 2021. The report does not relate to any current Mercy Corps team members, Board Directors, or programming.
The scope of the review conducted by Vestry Laight was: determine the facts of what steps were taken by Mercy Corps in regard to the allegations in 2018; identify any internal control failing; and make recommendations for process and governance reforms if appropriate.
Vestry Laight’s report included the following key findings and recommendations:
Nichols Liu’s evaluation of the Mercy Corps’ current policies and procedures on sexual exploitation and abuse contains the following key findings and recommendations:
Following the Phase 1 review by Vestry Laight, Mercy Corps commissioned a second external, independent investigation by Freeh Group International Solutions (Freeh Group), which has since been acquired by AlixPartners LLP, to determine the extent of the abuse perpetrated by Ellsworth Culver and any other abusers who might be identified, and to review the response of the Mercy Corps Board in 1992 and 1993 when the organization was first made aware of the abuse. Please know that the report contains deeply disturbing details that may be traumatic and triggering, especially for survivors of abuse. The Freeh Group’s investigative report (also available in French, Spanish, and Arabic) was published on May 19, 2021 and detailed a number of findings, including:
Coinciding with the release of the Vestry Laight and Nichols Liu reports in early 2020, Mercy Corps’ Board of Directors and Executive Team announced a number of commitments to action to restructure and strengthen the organization’s legal, ethics and safeguarding functions, update policies and strengthen Board governance. As of August 2023, we’ve fulfilled all 23 commitments to action, though we know that the work to improve our safeguarding systems, governance and accountability mechanisms is never truly finished and will require ongoing commitment, resources, and effort. Here is a summary of the fulfilled commitments to action:
For additional details, please see:
Mercy Corps encourages a culture of openness where team members, partners, program participants, and community members can safely raise their concerns, ask questions—including those of a legal and ethical nature—and report unethical behavior. Operating ethically and with integrity is the highest priority for Mercy Corps and all team members are required to report unethical behavior or violations of any Mercy Corps’ policy. To ensure we deliver on our commitment to ethical behavior, we have multiple methods available to report concerns or seek advice.
Our Integrity Hotline offers three options to confidentially report ethics violations or seek advice in a secure manner. The Integrity Hotline web portal is available in four languages, 24 hours a day. On the web portal, you may submit your report anonymously. The web portal is administered by an independent third party to ensure confidentiality and proper handling of reported misconduct. You may also submit a report by calling our Integrity Hotline local phone lines, which are administered by a third party contractor and provide live assistance in over 50 languages. Finally, you can email concerns in any language directly to the Ethics and Compliance Department at integrityhotline@mercycorps.org.
If you’re a Mercy Corps team member, you can report your concerns to your supervisor, a trusted leader, Human Resources, a safeguarding or integrity focal point, safeguarding champion or an Ethics and Assurance Manager in your country. They will ensure that your complaints are confidentially reported to the Ethics and Compliance Department. Additionally, you may submit a report through CARM (Community Accountability Reporting Mechanism).
You may find our ethics policies and supplemental guidance here.