Ethical culture

Whether saving lives in emergencies or working with communities to improve food security and nutrition, the World Food Programme (WFP) cannot achieve its mission without its employees maintaining the highest standards of conduct and integrity. It is critical that all our staff uphold the principles of the United Nations Charter, adhere to the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service and live WFP’s values of integrity, humanity, commitment, inclusion and collaboration. 

Code of conduct

The WFP Code of Conduct is rooted in the humanitarian principles of humanity, neutrality, impartiality and operational independence. It promotes WFP’s core values:

• fundamental human rights  
• social justice  
• the dignity, worth and diversity of individuals  
• equal rights for men and women 
• accountability, competence, respect and discretion to the people we serve
• anti-fraud and anti-corruption 
• protection from sexual exploitation and abuse. 

The Ethics Office

The Ethics Office was created as an independent and formal office to assist the Executive Director in nurturing a culture of ethics throughout WFP. It supports our employees in fulfilling their responsibilities with the highest standards of integrity and respecting the dignity of their colleagues and the communities they serve. The Ethics Office guides employees to think through the different ethical dilemmas they may face and encourages them to report potential issues, without fear of retaliation.