Whistleblower Policy

All employees, consultants, volunteers, and members have a duty to report concerns they have about possible fraudulent or corrupt activity immediately to the Executive Director. Those who reasonably believe there has been a violation of a law or policy or an action that constitutes fraudulent accounting should report it by completing the Whistleblower Complaint Form and submitting it to the Integrity and Safeguarding Focal Point (integrity@huairou.org).
The Executive Director is responsible for ensuring incidents are investigated, and appropriate action is taken where preliminary inquiries suggest that there appears to be substance in the allegations, regardless of the scale of the offense and whether the activity failed or was successful. Investigations will be undertaken rigorously and promptly in a professional and competent manner, and may require advice of legal counsel.
Consideration should be made of any reputational risk as a result of the fraud and the Executive Director should be consulted to ensure correct messaging is used. The knowledge that corruption has been uncovered should be limited to a very few key personnel. This will increase the likelihood of full and unbiased information emerging, and prevent the untimely departure of the suspected perpetrator(s), destruction of evidence and accusations of slander. Even once the investigation has been finalized the incident should not be shared beyond those involved and the Governing Council.
If it is believed that the action taken by the Executive Director is insufficient, then the Governing Council Chair or Vice Chair should be notified. If the matter involves the Executive Director, they are required to go directly to the Governing Council Chair or Vice Chair.
Where fraud and corruption are suspected within a partner organization, funding must be suspended as soon as fraud is established until the matter has been resolved to the Huairou Commission’s satisfaction.
Huairou requires its employees, consultants, volunteers, and members to observe the highest standards of business and personal ethics and to be in compliance with all applicable laws and regulations.

Conflict resolution

For conflicts between personnel, employees, consultants, interns and volunteers are encouraged to discuss the conflict in a safe and open environment. If an individual is uncomfortable speaking directly to the person, the individual should discuss the issue with their immediate supervisor.

Formal complaint resolution

To initiate a formal investigation into an alleged violation, including but not limited to discrimination, sexual or other harassment, or illegal or unethical behavior, an employee should submit an official “Whistleblower Complaint Form” (see Appendix E) to the Integrity and Safeguarding Focal Point. If the Integrity and Safeguarding Focal Point is the person responsible for committing the alleged violation, the form should be submitted to the Executive Director, and if this is the person responsible for committing the alleged violation, the form should be submitted to the Governing Council Chair. The form can be submitted in person, by email or through the online web form on Huairou Commission’s website.
The individual submitting the formal complaint will receive acknowledgement that the form was received and that an investigation is underway. For allegations of discrimination, sexual or other harassment, illegal or unethical behavior, Huairou Governing Council should receive a copy of the report and follow-up reports on actions taken to rectify the situation.
Huairou will acknowledge that the form was received and is under investigation. At Huairou’s discretion, subject to legal and other constraints the complainant may be entitled to receive information about the outcome of an investigation.
All investigations will result in a written report. In this report, management must disclose full details of their findings. The report must be submitted to the Governing Council and may be required by auditors, insurance companies, and donors. Additionally, the incident should be reported to the local authorities immediately either by the Executive Director or someone under their direction.
A compliance review by external auditors may be considered.
Investigations should determine:

1. The extent of corrupt activities, by whom and how it was carried out;
2. Whether any criminal prosecution is likely or desired and how the investigation should proceed such that it is not compromised;
3. The most appropriate way to recover any losses incurred;
4. If and how to discipline employees;
5. What action is to be taken to prevent reoccurrence of the corrupt activities.

All proven instances of perpetrators and collaborators of fraud and corruption will be treated as gross misconduct.
Recovery of all losses should be actively pursued. Should the costs of doing so significantly exceed the amounts that are likely to be recovered, the Executive Director has the discretion not to take this action.
Where fraud and corruption are uncovered at a partner organization, the relationship should be re-assessed and either terminated if it cannot be salvaged or if the relationship is to continue, ensure that sufficient action has been taken to address control weaknesses that allowed the corruption to occur.
Payments to facilitate work are considered as bribery under this policy and therefore are prohibited under the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA).
All inquiries, complaints and investigations are treated confidentially and employees can remain anonymous.
All examples of criminal activity must be recorded and reviewed by the management team and the Governing Council.
Where corruption or irregularities impact funds for which there is a contractual commitment to disclose to the donor, then these should be respected. In the case of referral to external authorities, and reporting to a donor, the final decision will be made by the Executive Director.

Retaliation

Retaliation against an individual requesting an investigation or providing relevant information will not be tolerated. Acts of retaliation should be reported immediately for prompt investigation.