78 . MOPAN 2017-18 ASSESSMENTS . UNITED NATIONS RELIEF AND WORKS AGENCY FOR PALESTINE REFUGEES IN THE NEAR EAST MI 4.6: Policies and procedures effectively prevent, detect, investigate and sanction cases of fraud, corruption and other financial irregularities Score Overall MI Rating Highly satisfactory Overall MI score 3.67 Element 1: A clear policy/guidelines on fraud, corruption and any other financial irregularities is available and made public Element 2: The policy/guidelines clearly define the roles of management and staff in implementing/ complying with the guidelines Element 3: Staff training/awareness-raising has been conducted in relation to the policy/guidelines Element 4: There is evidence of policy/guidelines implementation, e.g. through regular monitoring and reporting to the Governing Body Element 5: There are channels/mechanisms in place for reporting suspicion of misuse of funds (e.g. anonymous reporting channels and “whistle-blower” protection policy) Element 6: Annual reporting on cases of fraud, corruption and other irregularities, including actions taken, ensures that they are made public MI 4.6 Analysis 4 4 3 3 4 4 Source document UNRWA has a clear unequivocal statement of a no tolerance approach to fraud, corruption and any other financial irregularities. The Agency is guided in this regard by its 2015 Anti-Fraud and Anticorruption policy. This re-affirms the Agency’s long-standing zero-tolerance for all forms of fraud and corruption. It outlines the responsibility of managers in identifying fraud and corruption risks in their areas of business and ensuring that all systems, procedures and internal controls are implemented and enforced, as well as the responsibilities of the Commissioner General, of DIOS, of the Advisory Commission on Internal Oversight and of individual staff. The policy states that all UNRWA staff are under an obligation to report information pointing to fraud or corruption involving UNRWA personnel, funds or assets. UNRWA’s policy and procedures for reporting are set out in the policy and in General Staff Circular No. 05/2007 Allegations and Complaints Procedure and Protection against Retaliation for Reporting Misconduct and Cooperating with Audits and Investigations (GSC 05/2007) and General Staff Circular No. 08/2014 UNRWA Hotline - Reports of 1, 15, 24, 29, 79, 80, Misconduct (GSC 08/2014). All UNRWA Personnel are required to comply with the obligations placed 81, 115, 150 upon their conduct by the UN Charter, the Standards of Conduct for the International Civil Service and the UNRWA Regulatory Framework and to act at all times in accordance with the highest standards of fairness, integrity, transparency, ethical conduct and accountability. The agency has a whistle-blowers protection policy. In a Review of Whistleblower Policies and Practices in UN Organisations conducted by the Joint Inspection Unit in 2018, UNRWA was one of only 2 agencies found to meet all the requirements for providing staff with comprehensive and independent channels for reporting misconduct/wrongdoing confidentially and anonymously, including to external entities, and with specific provisions for reporting on the executive head and the head of the oversight office. DIOS has undertaken the training of staff in Field Offices on general investigation methodology applicable for decentralised investigations, the Ethics office has (amongst others) delivered training to UNRWA staff on the Whistleblower Protection Policy, social media and SEA.