MSF-Canada Reporting Hotline

The MSF-USA Reporting Hotline is a practical mechanism put in place by MSF-USA to identify, track, and pursue staff reports of MSF policy violations (for details, see below section: “When would I use the hotline?”). The hotline platform is run by Convercent, an external service provider based in Colorado, USA. Reports can be filed online, by telephone (domestically and internationally), and text (text service is currently available only in the US). Convercent service providers are available 24/7, 365 days a year. Reporting is confidential, and information is stored on Convercent’s systems. Convercent is fully compliant with the European Union General Data Protection Regulation  (GDPR) and the US Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act  (HIPAA).

The Reporting Hotline was developed and piloted by MSF-USA. In 2019, MSF-Canada decided to join the same infrastructure that MSF-USA had already developed. Sharing infrastructure allows us to reduce costs and begin to develop a Community of Practice. Information about cases remains confidential and is only ever managed by respective HR. The Hotline is compliant with the Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA).

The hotline can be used by all MSF-USA or MSF-Canada office volunteers and staff—including current and former staff, all field staff managed by the Field Human Resources Departments in New York, Toronto or Montreal, all staff employed at the MSF New York, Montreal and Toronto offices, and all positions hosted by MSF-USA or MSF-Canada (for example, Epicentre and Access Campaign staff)—and members of the respective Associations.

The MSF-USA hotline is designed to facilitate reporting of violations of MSF policies, both domestic and international. These include but are not limited to violations of the MSF Behavioral Commitments  and the MSF Charter . Examples of violations include discrimination, harassment, financial misconduct, theft or misappropriation of resources, abuse of power, and assault. Hotline reporting can be used for yourself or as a proxy, to report something you have witnessed or to submit a report on behalf of another person. Inappropriate behavior needs to be addressed to be changed, and that means we (MSF staff) are all responsible for reporting.

We still encourage you to address issues directly with a manager, the Human Resources department, Country Coordination, or via the Operational Center (OC) reporting lines.  However, the MSF Reporting Hotline is available in case you may want to report outside of regular line management or traditional OC channels. We recognize that reporting can be an intimidating process and that many people have concerns about retaliation. As such, our goal is for this hotline increases transparency, access to information and support for those coming forward. In some instances, you may want to use both the hotline and regular management channels to submit a report. It is important that reports of violations are submitted so that allegations may be thoroughly investigated by the relevant MSF entity. 

The MSF-USA Reporting Hotline is an independent service that can be used instead of or in addition to OC reporting lines or reporting directly to HR in New York or Toronto. The hotline platform allows for reports to be made outside of regular MSF channels by facilitating direct communication with HR in the New York or Toronto office. Potential complainants can make contact with the hotline anonymously, and communication can continue with anonymity on the hotline platform. The hotline platform also aggregates, processes, and tracks reports, allowing us to develop a coherent statistical picture of hotline use.

The hotline is a reporting, consultation and support mechanism, not an investigative or sanctioning mechanism. This means that reports made on the hotline are still investigated through the same routes as reports filed in person. That is to say:

• Reports filed about incidents in the field will be routed to the relevant OCs for investigation;
• Reports concerning incidents at OC headquarters, partner sections outside the US or Canada, official meetings, conferences, etc. will likewise be routed to the hosting MSF entity for investigation; and 
• Reports for incidents in the US or Canada will be referred to the appropriate domestic/HQ HR department for investigation. 

You can access the hotline 24/7 at:

DOCTORSWITHOUTBORDERS.ORG/REPORT-ABUSE 

Phone: 1.800.461.9330

If you are dialing internationally, see list of phone numbers here.

If the country you are calling from is not listed, use the main number above for a collect call/reverse charge call. Operator assistance may be required and local charges may apply.

The hotline allows a user to communicate anonymously to the receiving HR department. MSF makes every effort to protect confidentiality while responding to reports. However, in some instances, it may not be possible to take full action on a report without the reporting party identifying themselves.

MSF takes the safety and wellbeing of its people very seriously, and recognizes that people reporting abuses of power may have very serious concerns for retaliation. For this reason, procedure around reporting and investigation is very intentionally geared towards the safety of the complainant.

Reporting parties should understand that details in their report may result in the unintended (deductive) disclosure of their identities.

Once a report is filed, a unique report number is issued. Using the report number, it’s possible to check the status of the report anytime via the hotline platform or telephone.

Reports made to the MSF-USA hotline are tracked by unique case file numbers. Users submitting reports will be informed of case status and outcomes.

As each case has a unique report number, MSF can contact anonymous reporters using the case number and request additional information via the hotline platform.

Users may also provide additional information and documentation to an existing report via the hotline platform.

Yes, MSF-USA and MSF-C both follow whistle-blower protection laws. In short, no one will be penalized or sanctioned for filing a report in good faith. Full details are available in the MSF-USA and MSF-C employee handbooks.

The team at MSF-USA decided that an independent, third-party platform provided the best technical solution to process sensitive information from across a large international organization (with more than 45,000 people across the movement). We want to ensure that staff have a safe and secure platform when they need to report violations of our policies. MSF staff, the Association, Board of Directors, and MSF-USA’s Management Team requested that an independent hotline be made available to facilitate reporting.

MSF-USA and MSF-Canada share the hotline infrastructure. When you report, your details are accessed by your home section. The HR Directors of MSF-Canada and MSF-USA do collaborate and share best practices in order to develop more efficient and responsive process, but cases remain strictly confidential—case details are not shared between USA and Canada.

Only the Directors of Domestic HR and the Directors of Field HR are allowed to access reports made via the hotline. They do not have any access to the identities of the reporting party if the user has chosen anonymity. The Directors of Domestic HR receives reports pertaining to domestic US and Canadian staff; the Director of Field HR receives reports pertaining to field staff and forwards them to the relevant OC’s reporting mechanism, according to the circumstances of each case.

The hotline reporting platform is available in English and French at this time.