Mercy Corps Integrity Hotline

What: The hotline is a way for any team member, partner, or community member to report code of conduct violations. Grievances that do not involve violations of Mercy Corps' code of conduct such as performance issues, minor disagreements with other team members, and questions about why you were not selected for a position should be addressed with your supervisor and/or in-country human resources lead. We encourage you to submit your report even when uncertain if a code of conduct violation has occurred. You may provide information anonymously, but you should be aware that if we require further information to assess your complaint, we may not be able to act on your report. All information will be kept confidential and shared only with those persons who have a legitimate reason to know, to ensure the concern is handled and/or the appropriate steps are taken. We will provide confirmation when the investigation is complete and share the results to the extent it is appropriate and possible without infringing on legal requirements or confidentiality obligations.

Who: Our Ethics team is comprised of investigators trained to respond to allegations of fraud, corruption, discrimination, child safeguarding, and sexual exploitation and abuse. They are committed to ensuring that all allegations are handled confidentially and thoroughly investigated and addressed as appropriate.

Why: Mercy Corps encourages a culture of openness where team members can safely raise concerns, and identify unethical behavior. Our best resource for preventing misconduct at Mercy Corps is you, our team members, partners and community members. Please speak out if you have a concern:  together we are responsible for building and maintaining an ethical and inclusive culture and upholding the highest standard of ethical conduct and accountability. 

You do not need to have all the details or be sure a violation occurred to raise an integrity concern. However, without sufficient information, we may be unable to act on your report. If possible, you should include information that answers the following questions:

• Who: Who committed the wrongdoing? Who may be the victim/survivor of the wrongdoing? Who may be witnesses/bystanders to the incident(s)? Try to include the organization name, project name, job title, and the relationship between all involved parties in your report.
• What: Provide specific details about what the involved parties did in the incident(s).
• When: When did the incident occur? If there are multiple occurrences, please give as specific a timeframe for all incidents as possible. A general timeframe, such as "September-October 2020" is also welcome.
• Where: Where did the incident(s) occur? Please be as specific about the city, region, and country as possible.
  

After submitting your report: 

• Upon receipt of the report, you will receive a confirmation from Convercent.
• When submitting a report, the reporter can choose to include their contact information. If you choose to do so, a member of the Investigations Team at Mercy Corps may reach out for any additional information, as needed.
• Your case will then be assigned to an appropriate member of our team. If you submit your contact information, it will be used by the team only if they need additional details.
• During the investigation, the reporter can expect limited, if any, communications from the team throughout the duration of the investigation, in respect of confidentiality.
• You can check the status of your report on this page (above) using the access number you were given at the time of your submission. This status will be updated by the investigator as applicable, reading "New", "In Review", or "Closed". Additional information about the status will not be available to the reporter.