Ethics and Corruption in Humanitarian Operations IIHA – Fordham University 6 October 2020
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Objectives By the end of the webinar, participants will: Ø Have a better understanding of the importance of ethics and integrity for humanitarian work Ø Be better equipped to address common ethical challenges facing humanitarian workers Ø Have an overview of key corruption risks pertaining to humanitarian operations
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Importance of ethics for humanitarian work Ethics / ethical conduct:
Ø Brings credibility and respect from stakeholders Ø Humanitarian work depends on the cooperation of various stakeholders, including donors, host authorities, partners, vendors, beneficiaries and others Ø Provides guidance and a framework for decision making Ø Consistently upholding ethics and the standards of conduct helps guide decision-making in difficult or unclear circumstances Ø Emergencies frequently challenge humanitarian operaions, risking a compromise on ethics Ø Helps to build an ethical culture Ø Ethical leaders make it safe to do the right thing
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Drivers of an ethical culture • • • • •
Foster teamwork Lead by example Respect others Accountable Commit to vision of organization
• • • •
Training E-learning Outreach Confidential advice (Ethics / Ombuds /MEAL) • Internal communication
Ethical Leadership
Regulatory Framework
Ethical Awareness
Process
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
• Applicable laws • Mandate • Code of Conduct • Regulations & rules • Instructions • SOPs • Policies
• Recruitment • Procurement • Financial • Eligibility & entitlement • CoI management • Stakeholder engagement
Common Ethical Challenges for Humanitarian Workers
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
1. Challenges involving state actors • Your position may require frequent interaction with state / government representatives, especially representatives of host and donors • Always remember: the humanitarian goals and mission come first • What you say and do is perceived as your organization speaking and acting • Do not solicit, accept or follow instructions from government representatives • Do not give or accept gifts or honours from governments • Unsolicited, unanticipated gifts may be accepted to avoid embarrassment to the government or the organization, but must be reported and turned over to management
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
2. Outside employment & activities • Humanitarian workers should not undertake any outside employment, including self employment, both paid and unpaid, without obtaining approval of the country director / head of mission • This also applies to service on boards or in an expert capacity with a government or outside organization • There are certain activities needing prior approval of the organization, if they are not part of normal duties: • Issue statements to the press, radio or other agencies for public information • Accept speaking engagements • Take part in film, theatre, radio or television productions • Submit articles, books or other material for publication Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
3. Private conduct and social activities • Your off-duty, personal and social conduct still reflects on your organization and the wider humanitarian community • Humanitarian organizations have strong policies regarding use of alcohol & drugs and sexual (mis-)conduct (SEA & SH) • Use discretion in any remarks that could be interpreted as public statements or commitments made on behalf of your organization • Remember that being a humanitarian worker does not exempt you from observing local laws such as traffic regulations. Nor does it provide an excuse for ignoring private legal or financial obligations
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
4. Political activities & neutrality • Your organizations respects your freedom of thought and opinion, freedom to vote, national sentiments, and personal religious convictions • However, your employment relationship with a humanitarian organization requires that you: • must avoid political activities that could reflect negatively on the organization and wider humanitarian community • extercise discipline over the public expression of your opinions at all time, including on websites and social media • Humanitarian principle of neutrality: Humanitarian personnel must not take side in hostilities or engage in controversies of a political, racial, religious or ideological nature
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
5. Financial & business interests • Financial investments and business interests, and those of family members and other relatives, can create conflicts of interest with the humanitarian mission and responsibilities • Do not accept gifts, gratuities or favour of any kind from commercial firms or individuals doing or seeking business with your organization • Your organization may require you to disclose your and your family‘s financial and business interests • At all times, make sure that your financial and business intersts – including those of your staff and implementing partners – do not conflict or appear to conflict with the humanitarian mission
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
6. Family members and related issues • Although your employer respects your privacy, actions of family members or romantic partners can create conflict of interests (actual or perceived) and other reputational risks • Please be especially aware of, and seek advice regarding how to handle the following: • Spouses, romantic partners and relatives who are staff members of humanitarian agencies. Certain rules may apply • Eligibility & entitlement decisions you may need to take with respect to beneficiaries who are (distant) relatives • Romantic/sexual relationships between colleagues • Business interests of one‘s spouse, children, other relatives • Spouse or children‘s employment or affiliation with states, NGOs, and current or potential vendors
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
7. Concerns of unethical behaviour/misconduct
• You may receive grievances about unethical behaviour, reports of misconduct and requests for investigations. You may also witness behaviour that may violate your organization‘s regulatory framework • Do not ignore such reports and observations and take prompt action • If you can, address the matter directly with your office • If the issue relates to potential misconduct, you must report the situation, normally to your immediate supervisor or the country director • Should a member of personnel complain about unfair treatment by you, immediately notify your supervisor. This will protect you and the staff member involved • Do not retaliate against staff members that report alleged misconduct or other concerns in good faith or on reasonable grounds • Important: a grievance that can be resolved at an early stage – in as little as a few minutes to an hour – has the potential to escalate into a protracted conflict requiring enormous efforts to address
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Key Corruption Risks in Humanitarian Operations
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
How corruption affects humanitarian operations? Corruption (and fraud) affect: Ø Beneficiaries Ø It deprives beneficaries of resources and access to services and causes them to lose confidence in humanitarian actors Ø Humanitarian organizations Ø It reduces available resources to fulfill their mandate and causes damage to their reputation Ø Donors Ø It destroys donor‘s trust in humanitarian actor‘s ability to deliver results Ø Humanitarian personnel Ø It may encourage other personnel to engage in fraudulent activies and demoralizes others who diligently perform their work. Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
What is corruption? • “the offering, giving, receiving or soliciting, directly or indirectly, of anything of value to influence improperly the actions of another party.” (IFI common definition) • “an abuse of power for personal gain.“ (Transparency International) • “anything of value”/”for personal gain” may include: money, gifts, fees, fuel, sex, time, loans, promises of future payments or commissions, tax exemptions, employment, services, donations. • Corruption can take many shapes and forms. It can be financial and non-financial. It frequently happens in conjunction with fraud. Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Corruption versus other misconduct Fraud & Corruption (personal gain) q Financial: v Fraud v Corruption v Coercion v Collusion v Obstruction
Misconduct (breach of regulatory framework)
Corruption (abuse of power for personal gain)
q Non-financial: v Diversion v SEA v Sexual harassment v Nepotism & cronyism
Project20s ¡ Dr. Lex Takkenberg ¡ www.project20s.eu
Other Misconduct (no personal gain) q Violence q Corporal punishment q Prohibited conduct vDiscrimination vHarassment vAbuse of power q Retaliation q Waste of resources q Mismanagement q Financial irregularites
By whom and when do acts of corruption occur? Corruption can be committed by: • People within the organization, such as staff members, consultants, secondees, contractors, daily-paids, interns and volunteers, at any level of seniority • External parties such as vendors, partners, governments, refugees or other beneficiaries of humanitarian action • Collusion which involves two or more parties, either both internal, or internal and external working together Corruption can occur: • At any time and anywhere over the lifetime of an operation, programme or project • During any programme activity as well as in any of the programme support functions
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Key corruption risks in humanitarian operations Support functions •
Procurement
•
Logistics
•
Human resources
•
Finance
•
Construction contract management
•
IT systems
Remember: Fraud and corruption in humanitarian operations are not limited to support functions
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu
Programme cycle (general) • Needs assessment & resource allocation • Partners and local intermediaries • Targeting and registering beneficiaries • Distribution and post-distribution • Programme monitoring and evaluation • Commodities Programme specific (examples) • Education • Health • Microfinance
Key corruption risks in humanitarian operations: useful resources Preventing Corruption in Humanitarian Operations, Transparency International Handbook https://www.transparency.org/whatwedo/publication/preventing_corruption_in _humanitarian_operations Phone App Based on TI Handbook; available on App Store and Google Play E-course Accessed via IFRC learning website: https://ifrc.csod.com/client/ifrc/default.aspx Course available in various languages, including English, French and Spanish
Project20s ¡ Dr. Lex Takkenberg ¡ www.project20s.eu
Questions
Project20s · Dr. Lex Takkenberg · www.project20s.eu