Institutional directives

Code of conduct: Integrity,

and
Safeguarding

Federal Executive Division

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 Institutional Directives

Code of conduct: Integrity,

Prevention of abuseand
safeguarding

1. INTRODUCTION 3
1.1 Why the need for a code of conduct?
1.2 What are the foundations of this code of conduct?
1.3 What purpose will the code serve?
1.4 To whom does it apply?
1.5 What is the role and importance of this code of conduct?

2. CODE OF CONDUCT 6
2.1 Relations
2.2 Elimination of sexual exploitation and abuse situations
2.3 Work environment
2.4 Fraud & Corruption
2.5 Communication
2.6 Reporting

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1.
Introduction

1.1

Why the need for a code of conduct?

Humanity & Inclusion (HI) is an international aid and development

organisation engaged in promoting the rights of people with disabilities
and vulnerable people, and Human Rights in general. The respect and
dignity of the concerned people and the beneficiaries of the actions and
communities are at the heart of the commitment of the staff and other
collaborators (volunteers or partners, for example) of HI, in all contexts
of intervention.

HI’s reputation depends largely on the quality and accountability of its

staff, and so on their conduct. Even during difficult missions, HI aims to
promote engagement of the highest quality. Non-respect of the
organisation’s values undermines the reputation of the whole
organisation. It is important to bear in mind that each member of our
organisation represents HI both during and outside working hours.

HI’s staff regularly find themselves in positions of trust or power with

regard to the beneficiaries and communities concerned. They may not
feel this to be the case, but it is the unavoidable result of the economic
and symbolic differences between an NGO’s personnel and the people
benefiting from its actions. Demonstrating awareness of this and respect
for HI’s values means behaving in an appropriate fashion and feeling
responsible for and complying with its codes and ethical principles.

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1.2

What are the fundamental pillars of this Code of Conduct?

This code of conduct is a key element in the implementation of

institutional policies that lay down the fundamental principles for
the protection of the resources entrusted to HI, but above all for the
protection of our beneficiaries - especially those most vulnerable to
the abuse of power, with particular attention to discrimination,
gender-based behavior, sexual exploitation and abuse - and of our
own staff. These policies are notably:

▪ Protection of beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and abuse

▪ Child protection
▪ Fight against fraud and corruption.

The principles on which these policies are based are as follows:

• Respect for fundamental human rights, including the rights of the
child, disability rights and international humanitarian law,
• Zero tolerance on the part of the organisation regarding
violations of these rights by its staff and associates, and at all
times,
• Risk management, including establishing a protective
environment,
• The duty of assistance to victims, abused by HI staff or other
community actors
• The duty to report all incidents, doubts or suspicions of abuse,
even in the absence of proof.

This code of conduct aims to protect all the beneficiaries of HI’s actions,
direct and indirect, as well as people in the communities in contact with
these actions, especially children, women, people with disabilities or
elderly people and anyone in a situation of vulnerability.

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1.3

What purpose will the code serve ?

The code sets forth the expected behaviors and practices constituting
the organisation’s minimum standards as well as actions to be
avoided to ensure relations with the beneficiaries or between members
of HI’s staff are respectful of the ethics developed by the organisation
via its policies. Its purpose is therefore to help staff:
➢ understand better their obligations and responsibilities with
regard to the above-mentioned policies put in place by HI,
➢ take the appropriate decisions and adopt appropriate behavior in
both their professional and private lives.

Managers have a particular responsibility to ensure that their teams

comply with this code by ensuring that the work environment is
conducive to the application and ownership of the principles mentioned.
Failure to comply with this code of conduct may lead to managerial
sanctions including dismissal, as well as notifications in HR files.

1.4

To whom does it apply?

The Code, which must be signed personally by all the people concerned,
applies world-wide to anyone working on behalf of HI or as part of a
project or an action conducted with HI, whether recruited internationally
or nationally or working on an ad hoc basis on HI’s projects and actions.
It thus applies to all people having signed a permanent or fixed-term
employment contract with HI, as well as any family members
accompanying international staff, as well as to consultants, interns,
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voluntary workers or international volunteers, service providers and
partner organisations, by dint of their collaboration with HI.
It applies to all these people in all situations, professional or otherwise,
during working hours and outside working hours. For simplicity’s sake,
these people will be referred to as “HI staff and collaborators” in this
document.

The code of conduct must be signed individually by all persons involved.

1.5

What is the role and importance of this code of conduct?

This code of conduct translates the above-mentioned institutional

policies and the institutional protection guidelines into concrete action.
It is an addition to the existing documents for defining HI’s working
environment, which are:
▪ Humanity & Inclusion’s Charter and byelaws,
▪ the Rules of Procedure, which notably define psychological and
sexual harassment,
▪ the general and specific terms and conditions of engagement,
which define the contractual conditions for international staff and
national staff,
▪ the employment contract, service contract or any other
formalisation of a professional relationship, which is specific to
each person or situation and makes reference to all the rules to
be applied.

This code of conduct does not replace these documents.

2.

Code of conduct
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In every context, regardless of the emergency of the situation, as a member of
HI staff or as a collaborator, I commit to respect the following:

2.1

Relations

I will always make sure that beneficiaries (including children), staff and
partners are treated with respect, dignity and equality regardless of their
age, sex, physical condition, impairment, language, religion, opinion,
nationality, ethnic or social origin, status, class, caste, sexual orientation,
or any other personal characteristics.

I will always promote non-violent and positive behavior when

supervising or interacting with beneficiaries.

I do not participate in or encourage corrupt or fraudulent actions that

harm the beneficiaries and/or the organization. I do not demand or accept
any commission, consideration, or gift for my decisions or actions.

I do not touch beneficiaries in any way that is inappropriate for the

cultural environment in which they live.

I will never use language or make suggestions to provoke, harass or

degrade the person or knowingly show disrespect for traditional or
cultural practices.

I will never subject to beneficiaries any kind of sexist, humiliating,

degrading or abusive behavior, whether physical, verbal or
psychological or of other nature.

I will always inform beneficiaries (including children) and communities

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of their right to report any worrying situations, especially related to
intimacy issues and how they can raise a concern.

I will always try to take into account the capacity of the beneficiary to
participate, to respect his/her opinion, choices and autonomy, not doing
things of a personal nature that the beneficiary can not do for
themselves (e.g. toileting/ changing clothes, etc.).

I will always pay specific attention to people facing obstacles or

difficulties in communicating or fully expressing themselves (related to
impairment, mobility, gender or any other reason) by providing
appropriate, adequate and safe communication spaces and tools.

When I am in contact with a beneficiary (with a special attention to

childrenand women as well as men with disabilities), I will always make
sure that thebeneficiary is visible to another adult.

2.2

Elimination of sexual abuses and exploitation

I will never engage in any form of sexual relations with anyone under 18
years old, regardless of the age set by the sexual majority, the law or
local customs. Mistaking a child’s age is not a defense.

I do not engage in any type of sexual relationship or favor in exchange

for money, a gift of any kind, work, or humanitarian aid, even if it is
offered or expected by the persons involved. This rule applies in all
circumstances, including if these individuals are considered as sex
workers, or are referred by a third party as such.

I do not, under any circumstances, directly or indirectly, use an adult or

child to provide sexual services to another person, nor do I support,
enable or participate in any form of prostitution or sexual exploitation.
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Under no circumstances will I sexually exploit any HI beneficiary or staff
member, nor will I make a child work (including for domestic duties) in
exchange for assistance/help or any type of benefit.

2.3

Working environment

I will always treat beneficiaries, especially children and people with

disabilities, in an equitable and fair way, never discriminating against
them for example by favoritism or by excluding others.

I will always show respect to all categories of employees, partner’s staff,

community volunteers or beneficiaries.

I will never engage in or tolerate any form of harassment, discrimination,

physical or verbal abuse, intimidation or favoritism in the workplace,
including sexist and racist behaviours or sexual and psychological
harassment and abuse of power, respecting the rules that apply to me
(especially Internal Rules) on these issues.

I will always behave in a professional way with colleagues, avoiding

spreading rumours and false allegations and refraining from any
comment based on gender, sexual orientation, or any other personal
characteristics – which may be considered as harassment.

I will always assess the risk of harm of any sort related to project’s
implementation including financial and material. I will organize the
workplace, plan activities and being attentive to any conflict of interest’s
issues to minimize it, taking into account the impairment, health
condition, age and development of the child or any other condition or
vulnerability of staff (interns, cleaning staff, etc) and beneficiaries.

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I will always plan activities ensuring that information concerning
beneficiaries, children, families and communities remains confidential
and in respect of the data protection laws applicable to the concerned
environment.

I will never invite a beneficiary (especially a child) to my home, offer to

transport him/her, or maintain personal contact (phone, media, and
social networks) with him/her without a professional reason, and
without clear authorization from my manager.

2.4

Fight against fraud and corruption

I protect the material and financial resources of the organization against

any form of waste, loss, theft or misappropriation.

I ensure that the aid destined for the beneficiaries of our actions reaches
them, in the quantities and at the level of quality expected.

I do not demand or accept commissions, no any compensation or gifts

for my decisions or actions.

I will not accept facilitation payments (baksheesh), which are designed

to speed up the process by avoiding the rules.

I inform my organization of all invitations and gifts received or offered. I

refuse all invitations and gifts that result in a real or perceived loss of
objectivity and impartiality.

I make objective choices in the best interests of the organization, without

seeking advantages, favors or profits for family members, friends or
myself.

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I inform my organization of potential conflict of interest situations and,
when inappropriate, I do not participate in decisions that could be
considered non-objective or self-serving.

I perform my duties without abusing the authority or responsibilities

entrusted to me in order to obtain personal gain.

2.5

Communication

For any photo taken or video made, I ask for prior authorization from the
person concerned or his or her legal representative (minor or under
guardianship). Prior authorization cannot be obtained under pressure or
in exchange for an individual service.

When a photo is taken or a video is made, with the appropriate prior

authorization, I always ensure that the person is not depicted in a
degrading or sexually suggestive way.

I will always use respectful words and the people’s names when
speaking to them and to other persons or communicating on them.

I will never watch, publish, produce, or share pornography showing

children, and / or show such material to children.

I will always ensure that all audio, written or visual communication

respects the dignity and human rights of the person featured (including
anonymity when necessary, mandatory for children in high vulnerability
situation), and does not expose her or him to any risk of retaliation or
abuse of any nature.

I will always ensure when taking and publishing photos that

beneficiaries or children are not naked or dressed in a manner which is
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not adapted to the situation in which they are represented.

I will never show the faces of beneficiaries or children who are exploited
sexually, victim of trafficking or abuse, in conflict with the law, linked to
armed groups or who can easily be located even if their identity has been
modified.

2.6

Reporting

I will always raise any concern and query concerning the present Code
of conduct, the PSEA and the Child Protection Policy, the Fraud &
Corruption policy, with my manager / supervisor, or if not possible, with
another from my hierarchy or with a designated focal person (according
to the rules to internal reporting rules).

I will immediately report any suspicions or allegations of behaviour

going against the principles of the present Code of conduct, the PSEA
and the Child Protection Policy or fraud & corruption policy in the
EthicsPoint system with, if necessary, the support of my direct manager
- even if the information or allegations are unspecific, and without having
first investigated them myself.

I never deliberately make false accusations or spread false rumors about

a colleague, or any other person, in regard to non-compliance with this
code of conduct.

I agree to cooperate, confidentially and impartially, with internal

investigations as determined by my organization.

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For people who are part of HI (members and personnel), a
professional whistle-blowing mechanism is available on
Hinside, the organisation’s platform for internal
communication and collaboration: https://hinside.hi.org/
intranet/jcms/prod_2149085/en/professional-whistle-
blowing-mechanism

For people from outside HI (beneficiaries, partners,

suppliers, others),a complaint system is available on
the organisation’s website:
https://hi.org/en/institutional-and-professional-
information#ancre10Or write to the following
address:
Humanity
&
Inclusion
Complain
ts
138 avenue des
Frères LumièreCS
88379
69371 Lyon
Cedex 08
France

Contact:
Risks and Audit Division

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On 24 January 2018,
Handicap International’s global movement became
Humanity & Inclusion.
The Federation, which runs projects in around sixty
countries, is now working under the operating names of
“Humanity & Inclusion”, “Handicap International” or
“Atlas Logistique”. Any document with the letterhead
“Humanity & Inclusion” applies de facto to Atlas
Logistique and Handicap International teams.

Photo credit: 2017 / bpcraddock / Pixabay /Creative Commons

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Code of conduct:
Integrity, Prevention of
abuseand
safeguarding

As an aid and development organisation promoting respect for the

dignity and fundamental rights of people with disabilities and vulnerable
populations, HI is committed to ensuring the protection not just of its
beneficiaries, but also of all those in contact with its actions.
Each member of HI represents the organisation and is responsible for
safeguarding its image. Any lack of respect for its values damages HI’s
reputation and can undermine the legitimacy of its actions.
This Code of conduct outlines the behaviours and practices expected of you
with regard to the protection of beneficiaries from sexual exploitation and
abuse, as well as the actions to be avoided in order to guarantee that the
relations created within our teams, with our beneficiaries and with all those
in contact with our organisation are respectful of HI’s ethics and, more
generally, of the values it defends.

Humanity & Inclusion

138 avenue des Frères Lumière
CS 88379
69371 Lyon Cedex 08

[email protected]
69371 Lyon Cedex 08

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