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UNEP Integrity and Fraud and Corruption

The United Nations Core Values - integrity, professionalism and respect for diversity, constitute shared principles and beliefs underpinning UNEP’s work, and guide the actions and behaviours of UNEP personnel. In this regard, UNEP aims at having a strong work culture with civility and respect.

UNEP personnel are required to familiarize themselves and comply with the relevant policies, rules and regulations, demonstrate zero tolerance of prohibited conduct by themselves and others, raise their awareness, take action if they witness prohibited conduct and report prohibited conduct and undertake relevant mandatory training and non-mandatory training opportunities.

Prohibited Conduct

Prohibited conduct is a collective term for conduct where a staff member fails to comply with their obligations in the UN regulations, rules and internal policies.

Prohibited conduct is addressed in the following UN rules, regulations, and administrative issuances including:

Acts that constitute prohibited conduct include but are not limited to the following:

  • Sexual harassment, Sexual exploitation and abuse

  • Harassment: Harassment is any unwelcome conduct that might reasonably be expected or be perceived to cause offence or humiliation to another person, when such conduct interferes with work or creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment. 1.4 Harassment may take the form of words, gestures or actions which tend to annoy, alarm, abuse, demean, intimidate, belittle, humiliate or embarrass another.

  • Discrimination: Discrimination is any unfair treatment or arbitrary distinction based on a person’s race, sex, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression, religion, nationality, ethnic origin, disability, age, language, social origin or other similar shared characteristic or trait.

  • Fraud and corruption

  • Abuse of authority: Abuse of authority is the improper use of a position of influence, power or authority against another person. This is particularly serious when a person uses their influence, power or authority to improperly influence the career or employment conditions of another, including, but not limited to, appointment, assignment, contract renewal, performance evaluation, working conditions or promotion.

  • Others include unauthorised outside activities, misrepresentation, forgery, false certification or failure to disclose a material fact in connection with UN claims and benefits, acts or omissions in conflict with the general obligations of a staff member, misuse of UN property, medical and dental fraud, misuse of Office, including breach of confidentiality and abuse of privileges and immunities.

Reporting prohibited conduct

Information about possible prohibited conduct may be brought to the attention of the Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) Investigation hotline or the Executive Director (with a copy to OIOS). A formal report should be detailed enough to allow for a review of the report.

All anonymous reports should be filed with OIOS.

All reports for possible prohibited conduct are reviewed through the process of a preliminary assessment to decide on the need for an investigation. OIOS or UNEP investigates reports of possible prohibited conduct through fact-finding panels which is set up to make findings of fact that will help others determine whether prohibited conduct took place. A disciplinary process is conducted following which disciplinary measures are implemented.

Procedure for addressing prohibited conduct

 

 

Receipt of the complaint by UNEP or OIOS

The Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS), through its Investigations Division (OIOS/ID), retains the ultimate authority to review all complaints about unsatisfactory conduct. In view of this, UNEP is required to transfer all complaints received to OIOS/ID. OIOS/ID must then determine whether it will review the complaint and investigate or refer it to UNEP to take the appropriate action- such as conducting a preliminary assessment, taking interim administrative and managerial actions, and requesting assistance from the Ombudsman’s office to conduct mediation or coaching.

There is no timeline for this phase of the process.

 

 

 

Preliminary assessment and investigation by UNEP

Upon receipt of a referral from OIOS/ID, UNEP conducts a preliminary assessment. The purpose of the preliminary assessment is to determine whether an investigation should be initiated. A preliminary assessment is not a formal investigation process and does not require investigators. In UNEP, it is mainly undertaken by CSD/Legal or CSD/HR under the authority of UNEP Executive Director (Head of Entity). Following the preliminary assessment Corporate Services Division recommends either the closure of the case, administrative or managerial actions to be taken or the initiation of an investigation. The decision to initiate an investigation following a recommendation from Corporate Services Division is made by the Head of Entity.

The timeline to conduct a preliminary assessment is 3 months.

 

 

Investigation

If a decision is made to investigate a report of possible unsatisfactory conduct, the Head of Entity will appoint a fact-finding panel. The fact-finding panel is composed of UN staff members who have been trained by OIOS/ID, UN staff members who have prior investigation experience, or by retired UN staff members who have had experience in conducting workplace investigations and have been trained by OIOS/ID. Under ST/SGB/2019/8 Addressing discrimination, harassment, including sexual harassment and abuse of authority, there is a strict requirement for the Head of  Entity to appoint to a fact-finding panel OIOS/ID trained investigators for complaints related to harassment, abuse of authority and discrimination. For other reports for unsatisfactory conduct listed under ST/AI/2017/1 Unsatisfactory, investigation and the disciplinary process, these can either be undertaken by trained investigators and/or current or retired UN staff members with prior investigation experience. Investigations conducted by fact-finding panels appointed by the Head of Entity should comply with the Investigation toolkit.

DMSPC keeps a roster of investigators who have been trained by OIOS/ID throughout the UN. Investigators on the roster can serve as investigators for any UN entity that requires an investigator. Currently, there are 13 trained investigators in UNEP on the roster of investigators. Investigators are appointed only for the purpose of a fact-finding investigation, either by OIOS/ID or by the Head of Entity.

An investigation report shall be prepared by the fact-finding panel following an investigation to capture the conclusions of the investigation. The investigation report is sent to the Head of Entity by the fact-finding panel at the end of the investigation.  The Head of Entity reviews the investigation report following an investigation conducted by the fact-finding panel and decides whether the reported conduct is found to be substantiated, may amount to misconduct and should therefore be referred to the Assistant Secretary-General for Human Resources (ASG/OHR) for further review and disciplinary process as necessary. If the conduct is not substantiated by facts, the matter will be closed. The Head of Entity will also consider whether to take managerial or administrative action.

Timeline

1 month to set up the fact-finding panel from the conclusion of the decision to initiate the investigation.

No time limit for the investigation

 

Disciplinary process

Upon referral of the investigation report to the ASG/OHR by OIOS/ID or UNEP, the ASG/OHR reviews the investigation report to decide to initiate a disciplinary process, if the facts indicate that the conduct of the alleged offender may rise to a misconduct. No timeline to review the investigation report by the ASG/OHR.

If a disciplinary process is initiated by the ASG/OHR, the alleged offender is provided with formal allegations of misconduct together with the investigation report and supporting documentation. The alleged offender is entitled to seek legal advice and provide comments. Further investigation by the ASG/OHR may be necessary. The staff member has one month to respond to the formal allegations once they receive formal allegations.

At the end of the disciplinary process, the ASG/OHR may (a) close the case with no action, (b) refer the case to the Head of Entity for managerial or administrative action and/or (c) recommend to the Under-Secretary-General for Management (USG) to (a) decide that the facts are established to the requisite standard of proof, (b) impose disciplinary measures if the facts have been established and the behavior amounts to misconduct, (c) take administrative or managerial action where necessary, and (d) make a determination on recovery of financial loss to the Organisation in full or part.

ASG/OHR informs the affected individual of the decision of the USG following the disciplinary process with a copy to the Head of Entity.

 

Retaliation/Whistleblowing

Protection against retaliation/Whistleblowing

According to ST/SGB/2017/2 Rev. 1 Protection against retaliation for reporting misconduct and for cooperating with duly authorized audits or investigations, retaliation is any direct or indirect detrimental action recommended, threatened or taken against an individual who officially reported misconduct or otherwise cooperated with duly authorized audits or investigations. If established, retaliation constitutes misconduct which is subject to possible sanction. 

Pursuant to the Secretary-General’s bulletin (SG Bulletin) the Ethics Office reviews requests for protection. The bulletin encourages individuals to report fraud, corruption and other
potential misconduct without the fear of retaliation. whistleblowers can file reports anonymously to OIOS. 

The SGB Bulletin enhances protection for those who report misconduct (any violation of the Organization’s regulations and rules by staff members) or wrongdoing (by any person, that would be harmful to the interests, operations or governance of the United Nations), and for those who cooperate with duly authorized audits or investigations.

The ability to report misconduct or wrongdoing without fear of retaliation is a critical element to building an organizational culture of integrity, transparency and accountability.

A request for protection against retaliation should submit the UN Ethics Office within six months after becoming aware of the retaliation.

Procedure 

Requests for protection against retaliation or whistleblower reports should be made by anyone who has reported misconduct or participated in an investigation or audit and believes that s/he has been retaliated against should contact the UN Ethics Office.

The  UN Ethics Office is entrusted with administering the protection against retaliation policy which protects those who report wrongdoing. 

The UN Ethics Office conducts “preliminary reviews” of retaliation complaints to ascertain whether a prima facie case of retaliation exists. Such a “preliminary review” is not considered to be an investigation. However, if the Ethics Office finds a prima facie case of retaliation, it then refers the matter to OIOS for a complete investigation. OIOS conducts a full investigation by setting up a fact-finding panel and gathering facts from different concerned persons. At the end of the fact-finding investigation, OIOS transmits to the UN Ethics Office for their review and for action to be taken by the UN Ethics Office.

The UN Ethics Office makes the final decision following the review of the investigation report. UNEP may be requested to take administrative or managerial actions upon recommendation by the UN Ethics Office.

The process of addressing protection from retaliation/whistleblowing has been isolated from the concerned UN entity to be handled by the UN Ethics Office to ensure partiality in the review of such complaints. 

The UN Ethics Office produces annual reports of its activities which are reported to the Secretary-General. Information on the activities of the UN Ethics Office including the number of reports received for the protection against retaliation can be found here.

Fraud and corruption

UNEP has adopted a zero-tolerance approach to misconduct – including fraud and corruption involving its staff members, other United Nations personnel or third parties in relation to their work with UNEP. “Zero tolerance” means that UNEP will pursue all allegations of fraudulent acts involving any individual or entity covered by the United Nations regulations, rules, administrative issuances, policies, and procedures. The appropriate administrative/disciplinary measures or contractual remedies will be applied if fraudulent acts are substantiated, in accordance with the United Nations procedures concerning prohibited conduct.

Furthermore, UNEP may, where deemed appropriate, recover loss suffered by the Organisation or refer matters involving credible allegations of criminal fraudulent acts to national authorities.

Fraud and corruption defined

Fraud and Corruption defined “Fraud”: Any act or omission whereby an individual or entity knowingly misrepresents or conceals a material fact in order to obtain an undue benefit or advantage for himself, herself, itself or a third party, or to cause another to act to his or her detriment.

“Corruption”: Any act or omission that misuses official authority or that seeks to influence the misuse of official authority in order to obtain an undue benefit for oneself or a third party; and

“Fraudulent acts”: Any intentional misconduct that misleads, or attempts to mislead, a party to obtain a financial benefit or other benefit or to avoid an obligation and seek to evade detection.

Policy documents

The United Nations has established a dedicated framework on fraud and corruption in ST/IC/2016/25 Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Framework of the United Nations Secretariat (the “Framework”). The Framework promotes a culture of integrity and honesty within the Organisation by providing information to staff members on how to prevent, detect, deter, respond to and report on fraud and corruption.

UNEP has translated the Framework in the Anti-Fraud and Anti-Corruption Guidelines (UNEP AFAC Guidelines), which aims to strengthen UNEP’s prevention and response to incidents of fraud and corruption by:

  • providing concrete and practical advice to UNEP staff members in identifying potential risks areas;

  • providing a clear and user-friendly guide and reference for both external and internal audiences for awareness of controls put in place by UNEP which are aimed at monitoring fraud and corruption; and

  • providing a consolidated procedure for sanctioning fraud and corruption.

On 9 December 2022, the Under-Secretary-General Ms. Catherine Pollard launched the Secretariat’s “Fraud and Corruption Awareness Handbook” prepared to help staff understand how fraud and corruption can manifest in the various processes and functions of the Secretariat. It includes case studies reflecting some of the most common types of fraud and corruption experienced in the Organization, as well as red flags and indicators that may point to the possible presence of fraud and corruption. In addition, it contains references to mechanisms and channels for reporting fraud and corruption, as well as highlights of the process of investigations and imposition of sanctions.  The Handbook is available in both English and French languages. 

Fraud and Corruption Awareness Handbook I Eng I French

How to report fraud and corruption

Reporting fraud and corruption is the same process as reporting other prohibited conduct.

Confidentiality of the process 

The process to address prohibited conduct is a confidential process to safeguard the integrity of the process and protect the rights of those involved. To the extent possible, the identities of complainants and witnesses are treated confidentially and only disclosed to those with a legitimate reason to know about the process.

UNEP Annual reports

Conduct and Discipline 1 August 2020 to 30 September 2021

Fraud and Corruption 1 January 2020 to 31 December 2021

Conduct and Discipline 1 October 2021 to 31 December 2022

Fraud and Corruption 1 January 2022 to 31 December 2022