General:

It is important to report unethical behavior in our organization.

First try to assess the reasons for the unethical behavior. If the behavior is coming from a peer (colleague or volunteer at the same level as yourself) - consider speaking first to the person, if you are comfortable doing so. Ask the person why (s)he is behaving this way. If you feel that the matter should still be reported, the escalation process is described below.

The escalation process for reporting is as follows:

If the issue occurs within your affiliate, the reporting line is:

1. Go first to your supervisor; if this is not appropriate or the issue is not resolved:
2. Go to your affiliate CEO or Chair; if this is not appropriate or the issue is not resolved:
3. Go to the Ethics Officer in your affiliate, if any. Make sure you know who is your ethics officer!

4. If the matter is not resolved satisfactorily: Go to the Ethics Officer of International.

If the issue occurs within the international community (between affiliate and the International office; between affiliate and affiliate):

1. Go to the CEO or Chair of International; if this is not appropriate or the issue is not resolved:
2. Go to the Ethics Officer of International.

The objective as far as possible is to have a written agreement by all parties with agreed actions and behavior.

Note that in some cases having legal or criminal consequences, a mediation process may not be applicable. The ethics officer has authority to decide on the process that is appropriate for the matter at hand.