Ethical culture
Whether saving lives in emergencies or working with communities to improve food security and nutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) cannot achieve its mission without its employees maintaining the highest standards of conduct and integrity. It is critical that all our staff uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter, adhere to the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service and live WFP’s values of integrity, humanity, commitment, inclusion and collaboration.
Code of conduct
The WFP Code of Conduct is rooted in the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. It promotes WFP’s core values:
- fundamental human rights
- social justice
- the dignity, worth and diversity of individuals
- equal rights for men and women
- accountability, competence, respect and discretion to the people we serve
- anti-fraud and anti-corruption
- protection from sexual exploitation and abuse.
The Ethics Office
The Ethics Office was created as an independent and formal office to assist the Executive Director in nurturing a culture of ethics throughout WFP. It supports our employees in fulfilling their responsibilities with the highest standards of integrity and respecting the dignity of their colleagues and the communities they serve. The Ethics Office guides employees to think through the different ethical dilemmas they may face and encourages them to report potential issues, without fear of retaliation. Since 2018, the Ethics Office has also become the organizational focal point for Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse.
Our ethics work
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Training, education and outreach
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The first step in building and maintaining a culture of ethics is awareness. A clear understanding of the values, standards and principles expected of all WFP’s employees is essential to ensuring compliance. The Ethics Office conducts regular training and outreach activities, as well as internal communication campaigns.
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Advice and guidance
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The Ethics Office helps employees to navigate complex situations where ethical decision-making is required. We support staff in describing their concerns, identifying rules and regulations, examining their options and understanding the potential consequences. Our aim is to empower them to make ethical decisions that do not harm themselves, the people we serve or WFP.
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Protection against retaliation
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At WFP, we are committed to providing a safe and respectful work environment for all our employees. The Whistleblower Protection Policy is designed to protect from retaliation any employees who wish to speak up against misconduct and wrongdoing. Retaliation means any action - recommended, threatened or taken - that is meant to punish, intimidate or injure the employee for engaging in a protected activity. It applies to both current and former employees, regardless of their contract type or duration.
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Annual Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosure Programme
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There are times when employees' private interests and official duties are incompatible. The Annual Conflicts of Interest and Financial Disclosure Programme aims to identify and address such conflicts of interest, through the disclosure of assets, liabilities, investments and outside activities of certain categories of employees. It is a commitment to transparency and public confidence-building.
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Standard setting and policy advocacy
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The Ethics Office advocates for the incorporation of ethical standards into WFP’s organizational policies, practices and operations. Issues covered include protection from abusive conduct, prevention of sexual exploitation and abuse, anti-fraud and anti-corruption, privacy data protection, and confidentiality.
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United Nations coherence
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The Ethics Office promotes alignment between WFP and the broader United Nations. We share best practices through our membership of the Ethics Panel of the United Nations and the Ethics Network of Multilateral Organizations, as well as through coordination with the ethics offices of the other Rome-based agencies.
