Ethical Principles and Code of Conduct

Swallows is a non-political and non-religious development cooperation organisation and part of the international Emmaus movement. Our vision is a more just world where everyone has the chance to build a sustainable livelihood, and where people live with respect for one another and for the environment. In line with our mission, we carry out development cooperation projects together with local partner organisations to support ecologically, economically and socially sustainable development. We also take part in advocacy work in Finland to promote development policy in line with our vision. Our objective is to help ensure that the human rights of people in poor and/or marginalised communities are realised and that their opportunities to earn a livelihood improve. We currently work in Nepal, Sri Lanka and Peru. A large part of our work is done by volunteers.

Our values:

• Sustainable livelihood – We work to secure the livelihoods of local communities in ways that are ecologically, economically and socially sustainable. We provide information and training, support local livelihoods and strengthen food security.
• Equality – Justice and equality are among the most important values of our organisation. We especially support the organisation and empowerment of women, persons with disabilities and minority groups.
• Environmental sustainability – Environmental and climate sustainability are the foundation of a sustainable livelihood. We support projects where the protection of nature’s ecosystem services and the improvement of people’s quality of life go hand in hand. Our aim is to encourage not only individual beneficiaries but also whole communities and local authorities to understand deeply the value of nature and the environment and to protect them.

Our operating principles are long-term and effective partnership, local ownership and mutual learning.

All board members of Swallows, the Executive Director and other employees, volunteers, interns, people serving in positions of trust, consultants and service providers must commit to these ethical principles whenever they represent Swallows. Our partner organisations and their subcontractors must also commit to these principles. New people joining the association are introduced to the ethical principles as part of their orientation.

These ethical principles apply to all of the association’s activities, including administration and decision-making, financial management, project planning and implementation, procurement, travel, event organisation, communications, fundraising and cooperation with stakeholders.

We are also committed to following the framework of the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ ethical rules.

The board is responsible for putting these principles into practice. Their implementation is monitored continuously as part of project monitoring and the association’s administration. Any misconduct is reported and notified to the Chair of the Board. More detailed reporting and notification procedures are described in the association’s risk management plan.

We respect the dignity and human rights of every person. Our work is non-discriminatory and promotes equality. We treat everyone – beneficiaries, partners, volunteers and employees – fairly and with respect.

• Whenever possible, we make sure that participation is accessible and safe in our events, communications and partnership work.
• We respond without delay to inappropriate treatment, bullying and discrimination.
• We use language and images that respect people and do not reinforce harmful stereotypes.
• Supporting the rights and position of people who face discrimination is a central part of Swallows’ development cooperation. We address the causes of poverty, injustice and discrimination. We also work to change harmful attitudes and structures.

Our development cooperation aims to reach people who face the most discrimination and who are in the most vulnerable situations. Together with local partners, we address the structures that lie behind poverty and marginalisation.

• We design projects in a human rights-based and participatory way so that beneficiaries have a real chance to influence them. We work from the bottom up: the need for change in a project must come from local communities. At the project application stage, we require our partners to know the local communities and their challenges well and to carry out practical background studies of the target communities.
• At the beginning of each project, we identify the baseline for the project’s expected results and choose indicators that show whether the desired change is taking place. At the end of the project, an external consultant carries out a final evaluation of how well the objectives were achieved.
• We pay special attention to gender equality and to the rights of persons with disabilities, minorities and Indigenous peoples in both project work and communications.

We are a reliable partner. We work in equal partnership with local actors on their initiative. We support peaceful dialogue.

• The need for projects and their objectives always come from the beneficiaries or local partners, who know the beneficiaries’ situation best.
• Swallows does not bring in ready-made project models. Instead, we support partners and communities in project planning, implementation and strengthening the partner’s capacity.
• We do not assume that we know better than local people what is important or possible in their lives. We believe in open dialogue, where learning and developing ideas are mutual.
• Our aim is that, through cooperation, people who become aware of their rights and opportunities and receive training learn to claim their rights themselves.

We choose our partners carefully. Partnership is based on shared values, grassroots action and strengthening civil society.

• We look for partners who are committed to equality, reducing poverty and protecting the environment. We favour civil society organisations that strengthen community spirit among target groups, solidarity with people in weaker positions and active participation in decisions that affect people’s own lives.
• Partners must commit to preventing misconduct, ensuring good governance, acting transparently and fighting corruption.
• In all cooperation, we take conflict sensitivity, security and major exceptional situations into account. We expect our partners to have good risk management and we support them in times of crisis.

Alongside our civil society organisation partners, we work closely with local authorities in our areas of operation. Our aim is that, after a project ends, the municipality or administration will continue the useful services and practices created during the project.

Good governance is a basic condition for our work. We use funds appropriately, prevent misuse and operate openly towards funders, members and the general public. We have zero tolerance for corruption and misuse.

• We follow strict financial management in line with instructions and budget frameworks, both in our activities in Finland and in our projects.
• We disclose conflicts of interest, such as links to suppliers or partners, to the funder and make sure that a person who has a conflict of interest does not take part in decision-making.
• We do not accept bribes or improper benefits. Gifts and hospitality are handled transparently and recorded when necessary.
• We report any suspicions or observations of possible misuse to the funder without delay. In projects funded by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs, we make sure that the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ misuse reporting channel is known to all our employees and volunteers, as well as to transfer recipients and other stakeholders.
• We expect our partners to have basic administrative and financial capacity and to be prepared to deal with suspicions of misuse. When needed, we support them in strengthening these capacities.
• Our aim is to ensure that our organisation can continue promoting work that reflects our values and objectives in the future as well. This requires long-term work to secure project funding and transparent and responsible monitoring of our work and finances.
• The association uses artificial intelligence ethically and carefully in ways that support its values and work. The use of artificial intelligence must not endanger privacy, equality or trust. Artificial intelligence is used only as support and does not replace human judgement, responsibility or decision-making.

Swallows has zero tolerance for sexual exploitation and violence, sexual harassment, bullying, discrimination and abuse of power. We pay special attention to safeguarding the rights and safety of children and people in vulnerable situations. We are committed to the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ Norm: Reporting, investigating and communicating suspected misconduct in development cooperation.

• We agree on clear procedures for field visits, volunteer work and events, including safety, boundaries and supervision.
• We handle suspicions without delay and confidentially, always giving first priority to the safety of the victim or the person making the report. Retaliation against a person who reports concerns is prohibited.
• We recognise that our projects often involve people in the most vulnerable situations, who are at particular risk of exploitation.
• We publish the misconduct reporting channel and instructions on our website.

Our projects must be economically, ecologically and socially sustainable.

Strengthening the capacity of project partners and beneficiaries is a central part of our work. In every project, we plan how results and structures will continue after the project ends and how ownership will be transferred to local actors in ways that strengthen local structures.

For example, projects may support farmers’ self-sufficiency and local knowledge, as well as agriculture and biodiversity. We favour agroecological solutions, solutions that strengthen biodiversity and local climate-resilient practices.

Environmental sustainability is a cross-cutting principle and value in all of Swallows’work. We seek to avoid negative environmental impacts not only in project implementation but also in our procurement, events, travel and communications. We travel overland whenever possible and fly only when carefully considered and truly needed. We combine trips and support remote work when it is possible and sensible.

We monitor our projects actively in a spirit of openness and transparency. We carry out on-site monitoring visits and review results, risks and lessons learned together with our partners. We stay alert to possible misuse and address it at a low threshold.

In external final evaluations, we favour local evaluators and local contextual expertise. The evaluation results are reviewed by the board and communicated openly.

We actively manage risks in both the association and our projects, taking into account financial and political risks, risks related to changes in the operating environment, climate risks and risks related to people’s safety.

In all of Swallows’ communications, honesty and truthfulness are essential. This requires us to keep learning continuously about the issues that fall within our area of responsibility.

In development communications with our partners, building trust and maintaining direct and close contact are especially important. This also makes it possible to ask about, discuss and communicate difficult issues honestly. Trust affects what people are willing to tell us or translate for us.

Our communications are based on a constructive approach to the people and issues we communicate about, and we avoid stereotypes. We want to let interviewees speak in their own voice.

In personal and field interviews, we clearly explain who we are, why we are there and why we are asking questions. We also explain that we may use what we hear and the photographs we take in our communications. We ask interviewees whether this is acceptable to them, and if it is not, it does not affect any other cooperation. We leave our contact details available.

In longer articles, we try in one way or another to have the text checked before publication.

Swallows has signed Fingo’s Guidelines for Ethical Development Communications.

We want to be a good, responsible and inspiring community for Swallows’ volunteers and employees.

• We build a safe and encouraging working culture that people want to commit to for a long time and where colleagues treat each other with respect. We give feedback and thank people for the work they do.
• We encourage volunteers to develop their skills through orientation, mentoring, training and sharing what they learn, and to take on challenges. We expect everyone to commit to agreed tasks, take part in discussion and decision-making, and behave well and respectfully towards others.
• We respect everyone’s time and agree on tasks realistically. We ask how people are doing and take care not to overburden anyone. We prioritise tasks to keep workloads reasonable. We offer our skills to support the association within the limits of our resources.
• In the board, we discuss even difficult challenges openly and confidentially. We accept that people come to situations from different starting points in terms of experience, skills and resources. We make decisions together and make room for discussion. We are also interested in the views and opinions of volunteers outside the board and involve them in planning and developing our activities whenever possible.

We accept funding and donations only when the terms are in line with Swallows’ values and ethical principles. In corporate cooperation, the company’s values and activities must be compatible with Swallows’ values. We do not accept funding that restricts compliance with the Ministry for Foreign Affairs’ ethical rules or Swallows’ independence.

Before entering into cooperation, we assess possible human rights risks and environmental impacts. We keep fundraising transparent by explaining what the funds will be used for and by reporting regularly on how they are used.

For proceeds covered by a money collection permit, we follow the regulations of the National Police Board.