Code of Conduct
Child Rights Connect is a rights-based organisation driven by human values that are important to the organisation and how we operate as a network dedicated to advancing the rights of all children in every place. We commit to promote, protect and fulfil human rights in general and particularly children’s rights in all our policies, decisions and actions. We do so in line with the international human rights framework, in particular the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols.
The Child Rights Connect Secretariat (including interns and volunteers), consultants and members of the Executive Committee are all required to observe the highest standards of professional and personal ethics in their work. This means always acting in accordance with the following professional values, whether working in-person or online, and within and outside the organisation:
We ensure the safety and wellbeing of all children involved in our work. We create and maintain an environment that prevents the abuse and exploitation of children and we take appropriate action to minimise risks to children. We help children to understand all safeguarding measures in place and who to go to if they have a concern or incident to report. We are also concerned about the safety of adults collaborating with us and take appropriate action to minimize the risks they face while engaging with us. We protect the personal integrity of all children and adults associated with our work.
We strive to achieve significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and to realise the rights of all children around the world, in line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. We recognize that achieving change for children requires cooperation and, as such, we promote collaboration and coordination amongst key stakeholders, particularly at the national level, as a strategy for realizing children’s rights.
We work with and for children, in line with the principle of the best interests of the child. We always consider how any decisions we make or action we take will have an impact on a child or group of children.
We create and maintain an environment for safe, sustained and empowering child participation across all our work, activities and areas of the organisation (including governance and decision-making).
We contribute to building and developing an environment where children, including child human rights defenders, are empowered to be heard and to exercise and defend their rights and the rights of others. We also contribute to empowering civil society in their role to sustainably empower and support children to defend their rights and the rights of others.
We treat all people with respect and dignity, regardless of their age, origin, gender, sexual orientation or gender identity, ethnicity, religion or any other characteristic(s). We respect everyone’s views and give equal opportunity to all for expression of their views without discrimination.
We strive to ensure child- and everyone-friendly language and communicate clearly and in a way that is accessible to as many as is possible.
We ensure that all activities are smoke, drug and alcohol-free zones. To mitigate the impact of our work on climate change, we take action to reduce the carbon footprint of our operations, and to offset carbon emissions where possible.
In pursuing our mission and shared goals, we value diversity and respect for different views and we work together in a spirit of collaboration, solidarity and transparency, both inside and outside the organisation, including with partners, donors and supporters. This includes valuing and maintaining a highly collaborative approach to teamwork. We also strive to act as catalysts for cooperation and promote collaboration and coordination amongst key stakeholders, particularly at the national level, as a strategy for realizing children’s rights.
We contribute to creating and maintaining a climate of trust inside and outside our organisation by acting with openness, honesty and transparency. We disclose information about our work, the results of our work, our challenges, our financial situation, and our donors and supporters.
We hold ourselves accountable for the decisions we make and actions we take, and for our impact on others while implementing our work.
We observe and respect confidentiality of all children and adults and their personal information (unless disclosure of such information is necessary to mitigate or respond to harm, or risks of harm, to children).
We promote an environment and culture of anti-bribery, anti-corruption and anti-fraud within the organisation, and take appropriate action to minimise such risks.
We encourage and enable anyone to report suspected violations of applicable laws, human rights standards and our organisational policies and values (as enshrined in this Code of Conduct), and protect them from adverse consequences.
Child safeguarding policy and procedure
Child Rights Connect has an unequivocal commitment to child safeguarding and to being a child safe organisation. Our Child Safeguarding Policy and Procedure aims to make sure no child who is engaged in action with Child Rights Connect comes to any harm. To ensure the safety and wellbeing, and prevention of abuse, of all children involved in our activities, to promote child safeguarding standards and actions in line with our Policy and Procedure among our network members and partners, and to adequately respond to any incident or concern, we have an internal Child Safeguarding Focal Person, who can be contacted at: safeguarding@childrightsconnect.org.
Find out more about our approach to keeping children safe here:
Additional child safeguarding resources:
Gender equality policy
Child Rights Connect is committed to advancing gender equality, with an intersectional approach, both within and outside the organisation, and across all areas of its work and organisation. This is grounded in a vision for a world where all children equally enjoy their rights, and can equally participate in matters affecting their lives in a safe, empowering, inclusive and sustained way. Because ensuring children’s full enjoyment of their rights requires examining intersectional aspects of other identities in addition to gender, this policy specifically considers children who are deprived of their rights, including but not limited to, girls, boys, gender diverse children, children with disabilities, children from indigenous groups, and children from minorities.
Read the full policy here:
Environmental policy
In recognition of the right of all persons to a clean, healthy and sustainable environment and the urgent threat to children’s rights globally posed by the ‘triple planetary crisis’ (the climate emergency; the collapse of biodiversity; and pervasive pollution), Child Rights Connect is committed to minimise the negative impact of its programmes and operations on the environment and to align itself with sustainable practices.
Read the full policy here:
Anti-corruption policy
Child Rights Connect has a zero-tolerance policy on bribery, fraud and corruption and requires its staff and those with whom it works to declare actual or potential conflicts of interest. Our Anti-Corruption Policy explains how we address these risks, how we respond to confirmed cases of bribery, fraud and corruption, and the roles and responsibilities of our staff, consultants, interns and volunteers, Executive Committee members, network members and others collaborating with us.
Read the full policy here:
Whistleblower Policy
Our Whistleblower Policy outlines the standards we expect from everyone at Child Rights Connect and encourages anyone, including from outside the organisation, to speak up about unacceptable behaviour, wrongdoing or violations of human rights, applicable laws, and our policies. We firmly commit to the principle of no retaliation against any whistleblower.
A summary of our policy, including the reporting procedure, can be found below.
If you want to report wrongdoing by a Child Rights Connect staff, consultant, intern, volunteer or Executive Committee member, please use our online reporting form. If you need any special assistance in filing this form, or simply have a question on this policy, please contact one of the these persons: EDwhistleblowing@childrightsconnect.org (our Executive Director); or VPwhistleblowing@childrightsconnect.org (our Vice President); or Pwhistleblowing@childrightsconnect.org (our President). Please otherwise feel free to contact secretariat@childrightsconnect.org with any questions about the policy.
Read the full policy:
Summary of our Whistleblower policy:
Child Rights Connect requires staff, consultants, interns, volunteers and members of its Executive Committee (ExCo) to observe the highest standards of professional and personal ethics in their work. The organisation has zero tolerance for any conduct contrary to relevant laws and human rights standards or contrary to its organisational policies.
This policy aims to encourage and enable any person, including those outside of the organisation, to report a suspected violation so that Child Rights Connect can address and correct improper action.
Any person reporting a suspected violation is expected to act in good faith. This means she/he must reasonably believe that a staff member, consultant, intern, volunteer or Executive Committee member of Child Rights Connect has failed to comply with human rights standards, laws and regulations applicable to the organisation, or Child Rights Connect organisational policies.
Any person outside of Child Rights Connect who wishes to report a suspected violation should share their concerns in writing through the dedicated online whistleblower reporting form. Reporting anonymously is possible through this form. The reporting form collects information on the alleged violation(s), including but not limited to its nature, who allegedly acted wrongly, what occurred and when, and how and when the person came to know about it, with a view to allow proper investigation and follow-up.
Once submitted through Child Rights Connect’s website, and depending on who allegedly acted wrongly, the completed form is automatically forwarded to the following responsible persons, with no copies stored on the website:
- The Executive Director of Child Rights Connect (through this email address solely managed by the post-holder: EDwhistleblowing@childrightsconnect.org); or
- In the case where the suspected violation involves the Executive Director or a member of the ExCo, to the ExCo Vice-President (through this email address solely managed by the post-holder: VPwhistleblowing@childrightsconnect.org); or
- In the case where the suspected violation involves the ExCo Vice-President, to the ExCo President (through this email address solely managed by the post-holder: Pwhistleblowing@childrightsconnect.org)
Child Rights Connect is committed to protect from adverse consequences those who report a suspected violation. Any employee, consultant, intern, volunteer, Executive Committee member or Network member who retaliates against a person reporting a suspected violation will be sanctioned.
Any person reporting a suspected violation may request confidentiality. Such communications will be kept confidential to the extent that an adequate investigation allows so.
Depending on the subject of the suspected violation, Child Rights Connect Executive Director or Vice-President or President is responsible for investigating the matter and reporting to the full Executive Committee. The Executive Committee is responsible for deciding on a response, communicating it to those involved, and overseeing the implementation of the response. Any Executive Committee member involved in allegations will be automatically excluded from this process.
