January 26th, 2008 by Shlomo Lockerman | Category: Amnesty International, Human Rights, Human Rights Watch, Medecins Sans Frontieres, NGO Monitor

In this post, we discuss the question of ethics for those who take jobs with human rights organizations. This will be the first of a series of posts on this topic that we will cover in the coming weeks. If you are an employee of an NGO and would like to contribute to the discussion or an upcoming post on the topic, please leave a comment.

In order to decide the expected ethical behaviour of employees of an NGO, the best place to start is with the standards the organizations claim to uphold. Amnesty International’s says it “is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. It does not support or oppose any government or political system.” In its charter Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders) says it “offers assistance to populations in distress, to victims of natural or man-made disasters and to victims of armed conflict, without discrimination and irrespective of race, religion, creed or political affiliation.” As a final example, Human Rights Watch says that “[t]he hallmark and pride of Human Rights Watch is the even-handedness and accuracy of our reporting. To maintain our independence, we do not accept financial support from any government or government-funded agency.”

These Human Rights organizations hold political and ideological independence and neutrality among their core values. Of course the organizations are made up of their people. For the organization as a whole to be impartial, it requires that all of its people behave in an impartial manner. For accuracy of reporting to be maintained, it requires that all those collecting data, processing and reporting on it maintain the highest standards. It also requires independent oversight to ensure these standards are being met (this is where NGO Monitor comes in).

Employees must uphold the ethical values of the organizations they work for, at least while they are on-the-job. The requirements place on employees in their free time are debatable, but it is clear to see that someone who spends this time as a political activist for a particular cause can not in good faith work in an area relating to that cause with an NGO. To do so would either compromise the NGOs neutrality or would put the employee in a very difficult position where their own rights and freedoms are compromised. Where an employee is campaigning as part of their job, there are other safe guards that must be observed.

In today’s world of multiple narratives, human rights workers have to be careful not to get caught up in the cultural narrative of one group. Being involved in one side can lead to selective vision, manipulation of information to better suit one perspective, and interpretation colored by one narrative. Individuals falling into such a trap can bring their organization into disrepute and cause the public to loose faith in human rights organizations in general. Neutrality is never easy but it must be sought after.

On paper the NGOs have the right approach to preventing political and ideological bias. In practice, maintaining these principles takes continual effort, training and oversight. No workplace is perfect and no organization always meets its goals. In the arena of human rights organizations, however, important moral principles are at stake and every employee must play their role in upholding these principles.