WG International Geneva
ECS Working Group – International Geneva. This group brings together international non-governmental organisations (INGOs), International Organizations (IOs) and other organisations in the not-for-profit sector, as well as welcoming professionals from the private sector, to exchange on challenges and priorities among themselves and leverage expertise on ethics and compliance topics.
The drivers for compliance in the sector introduce additional factors beyond those found in the private sector. Whilst the sector is generally less regulated, and in the case of IOs, operating beyond the sphere of domestic laws, expectations of integrity and transparency are extremely high driven by donor and public oversight. Building effective and efficient compliance programmes when operating with tight financial constraints—to keep overhead and non-operational costs to a minimum—adds to the challenges faced by professionals in this space.
Please contact Rebecca or Caroline (Linkedin) to join our events.
8 June 2026 – Compliance Complexities: aligning Codes of Conduct and related conundrums
On 8th of June, Ethics & Compliance Switzerland’s newly established International Geneva Working Group led by Caroline Onyango-Dyregaard and Rebecca Cameron met at Villa Plantamour on the shores of Lac Léman to discuss “Compliance Complexities: aligning Codes of Conduct and related conundrums”. An expert panel with Olena Goloborodko (Zug Pharma Group), Allison Neopole (MMV), Heike-Nibergall-Lackner (ICRC) and Caroline discussed how to develop and manage codes, challenges with on the ground compliance, and strategies for dealing with gaps and misalignments. It was great to see over 25 professionals at the event.
27 January 2021
Webinar: Integrity Challenges for International Organizations and NGOs during the Covid-19-crisis: Urgency vs. integrity – The impact of COVID-19 on compliance in the not for profit sector
The past year has driven significant changes both in the core work we do in our organizations – but also in the shared task of integrity, risk management and compliance. Most of us have been facing challenges, ranging from less travel, managing more cases or additional IT-topics like data privacy in online interviews.
Taking a new turn, the ECS Working Group on NGOs and International Organizations hosted an interactive session with high-profile experts and exchanged experience and ideas on the challenges and how to address them during the Covid crisis.
Speakers:
- Mr. Helmut Buss, Director, Ethics Office, UNHCR
- Mrs. Maria Thestrup, Chief Ethics, Risk and Compliance Officer, ICRC
- Ms. Emilie Wiinblad Mathez, Senior Ethics Adviser, UNHCR
Our Working Group’s kick-off event was held on July 1, 2019 in the office of Lalive in Geneva. We had great attendance by compliance professionals from International NGOs, UN agencies, sport federations and specialized consultants.
Malika Aït-Mohamed Parent, the keynote speaker, delivered an insightful presentation with a clear message : the not-for-profit sector is an unregulated, therefore a self-regulated industry: compliance in this sector is being defined and custom-designed by each organization separately, in reaction to issues or scandals affecting the sector. Malika then presented the wealth of resources already available on the topic of compliance and anti-corruption in the humanitarian sector. See here the link to Malika’s presentation.
Following the keynote speech, participants discussed how the Working Group could contribute to the ongoing reflexion on the topic of compliance in the not-for-profit sector and deliver some value to its members and the broader professional community.
Many ideas of topics and formats were discussed. Ultimately, the consensus was that a broader consultation of the community was necessary to define activities and priorities.
A formal survey process would need to be launched. Several participants volunteered to contribute to the survey’s content and to the analysis of results.
The survey’s link will be shared with all participants and other professionals interested in the topic, inviting them to respond and share the link with their network.
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