About this Portal

How to use this Portal?

This Portal was created through a consultative process with UNOPS colleagues across various offices. It provides easy access to information about our internal justice system and whistleblower processes in multiple formats. The Portal is available in English, French and Spanish - simply choose your preferred language using the toggle in the top right corner. You can find an overview of the Portal here.

Office
Here you will find the units where you can report allegations of misconduct or raise concerns.

Support
This section lists the units that offer emotional, psychological, and procedural support to help you navigate the internal justice system and whistleblower processes.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
The FAQs are organized by unit, making it easier for you to find the information you need. If you’re unsure where to look, you can always ask the AI Bot.

Navigate with AI Bot assistance
The AI Bot, which is informed by the content of the Portal, can help guide you to relevant information or policies. However, it is important to remember that the Bot is not a replacement for expert human advice from the listed units.

Submit a case
The "Submit a case" section contains the webforms for reporting misconduct or raising concerns. You can also access these forms from individual units' pages or through quick links at the bottom.

Feedback
If you have questions about the Portal or want to provide feedback, please use the Feedback form.

The UNOPS Code of Ethics is a practical tool to shape and safeguard our ethical commitments. Those that we need to adhere to, and those we need to aspire to. 

Cultivating an ethical culture is a community endeavour where everyone practises responsibility for their own decisions, advocates for our shared ethical values, and supports one another with empathy and care. In this, the Ethics Code aims to help:

• Clarify whether a specific action or decision is consistent with UNOPS’ ethical commitments.
• Explore what you can do to shape and safeguard ethical values.
• Navigate ethical dilemmas.
• Find resources to support you in addressing a situation where ethical values are at risk.

Consult the Code here or through the Resources tab.

In UNOPS, we emphasize prevention and early conflict resolution because resolving workplace disputes or conflicts informally gives space to the affected individual to impact the outcome and contribute to a culture of dialogue. 

Prevention and early conflict resolution start with all of us. 

Speak with. We all need to take responsibility for our conduct and actions, think before we act, and commit to dialogue. Difficult conversations can be stressful, but they are also necessary because they facilitate cooperation. We should listen to each other, ask questions to understand each other better, and be ready to give and receive apologies. Mistakes happen and it is the willingness to learn from them and improve that makes a difference.

Managers and supervisors have a special responsibility to ensure a harmonious workplace based on mutual respect (ICSC Standards art. 16). Managers should handle concerns brought to them either through informal means, or by reporting the concerns to the appropriate office on behalf of the colleague coming to them for support. 

Speak out. At UNOPS, we wish to embed our ethical values across the organization. This is why accountability also starts with us. We must embody our organization's values and help foster a culture of openness, expression and mutual support that makes us ethically resilient.

To help you understand where to go and when, if you need support with a concern, you can read more about the various offices and other resources available to you on this Portal. You may also reach out to the Navigation, Support and Advocacy Team for a chat about the avenues available. 

Speak up. Accepting that mistakes happen is conducive to an enabling environment where innovation has space to grow. Polite dissent and critical thinking are paramount to innovation and growth. Speaking up is therefore not limited to reporting misconduct, but is intended to highlight the need for psychological safety where we all feel comfortable voicing our thoughts. 

Sometimes, taking direct action might not be the best option for us. Here we can seek support from the Workplace Conduct Team or the Ombudsman Office to help facilitate dialogues or to mediate between us. 

Serious offences such as sexual misconduct must be reported.

Making a report or raising a concern can be challenging. We may not know how the process will unfold or how we will be impacted. Under each Office, read how they handle concerns and reports and what this means to you. There may be differences between offices, but all seek to have a victim-centered approach that emphasizes your well-being. The Portal also has a range of frequently asked questions and an AI Bot you can interact with.

And if you are still in doubt and want to speak to a “real person”, you may contact the Navigation, Support and Advocacy Team, which will guide you through the process or to the respective responsible office directly.

The Portal primarily aims to inform UNOPS personnel. However, externals may also find some information useful.

Your query will be treated confidentially by the office you have reported or brought a matter to in accordance with its applicable policies. Please inquire about the specific policies and practices within the respective office.

In principle, your consent will be sought first if there is a need to obtain information from other colleagues or offices or a need to refer the matter to another office.

There are exceptions to this rule at the discretion of the office involved:

• In the course of an investigation or disciplinary process, the evidence you provided may be disclosed to the person accused of misconduct, in order to adhere to UNOPS due process obligations.
• If an office is required to cooperate with requests for information from UN oversight bodies or the UN Dispute and Appeals Tribunals. 
• If an office considers that there is a danger posed to you or someone else.
• If there is a risk of environmental damage or a threat to public health or safety.
• If UNOPS is required to provide information to a national or international authority or a law enforcement agency.
• If a person has themselves not maintained confidentiality, or acts in such a manner from which it may reasonably be inferred that the individual has waived confidentiality. 

Where possible to do so, and in accordance with UNOPS policies and processes, we would seek to consult you before making the disclosure, but we would not be required to obtain your consent. 

Remember that confidentiality works both ways. It is important that you keep your report, or participation in any fact-finding or investigative activity, confidential as well. Not only is it important for the integrity of any process, but a failure to maintain confidentiality may amount to misconduct. Maintaining confidentiality will also prevent gossip and reputational harm for all parties involved.  

This Group was created to enhance consistency in handling workplace issues that:

1. involve interdisciplinary and procedural issues related to UNOPS system of accountability;
2. do not meet the threshold of misconduct, but negatively affect operations, personnel well-being, organizational culture and/or workplace conduct;
3. involve situations that indicate systemic problems, trends, issues or observations that impact the organization; or
4. relate to the effectiveness of UNOPS whistleblower ecosystem.

The members of the group (the heads of IAIG, the Ethics Office, the Legal Group and the Workplace Conduct Team) will meet regularly and discuss non-confidential information related to current workplace issues. The aim is to ensure consistency in how these cases are handled and ensure that the right office handles the issue. The group will not discuss confidential details of any specific cases. 

The Advisory Group on Interdisciplinary Matters is not a decision-making body or a channel for reporting misconduct.