You may know that the CERN Ombud is a member of the International Ombuds Association (IOA). Originally founded in the USA, the IOA promotes the profession of ombud all over the world. 

One pillar of the IOA’s mission is the establishment of a set of standards for the profession. These standards are more than simply aspirational, setting precise expectations as to the values and working principles that ombuds are requested to respect and follow.  

Recently, on 17 March 2022, the IOA Board of Directors approved the Association’s final, revised Standards of Practice (SOP) and Code of Ethics (COE). You will find both texts on the Ombud’s website and I would like to place a spotlight today on the Code of Ethics. 

The mandate of the CERN Ombud allows the latter to work according to the fundamental principles of the profession: independence, impartiality, informality, confidentiality. In particular, the direct reporting line to the Director-General and the full independence that the latter grants to the Ombud enable this role to be truly external, impartial and free from conflicts of interests. 
In addition to these fundamental working principles, the Code of Ethics lays out the core values of the profession and requires that ombuds:

• act with honesty and integrity;
• promote fairness and support fair process;
• remain non-judgmental, with empathy and respect for individual differences;
• promote dignity, diversity, equity, inclusion and belonging;
• communicate accurate understanding through active listening;
• promote individual empowerment, self-determination and collaborative problem-solving; and
• endeavour to be an accessible, trusted and respected informal resource. 

In line with the work of my predecessors, I am particularly attached to these core values of the profession and work consistently to put them into practice in the Ombud’s Office. I have frequent contact with the ombuds of other organisations in the public and private sectors, as well as with those of other international organisations.  All of them have a genuine attachment to these core values. 

The 17th international conference of the IOA, a key milestone of the Ombud’s year, is taking place between 4 and 6 April 2022, and ombuds from all over the world will meet – virtually again this year – to explore the theme of “belonging together reimagined”. I will take part and will undoubtedly come away with a wealth of ideas, connections and knowledge, which will empower me to serve the CERN community better. 

The combination of the core values and the fundamental working principles makes the CERN Ombud unique among all the response channels that are available to you when you are facing a challenging issue, whether it is an interpersonal conflict or any situation of inappropriate behaviour or misconduct that is affecting your work environment. 

                                    Laure Esteveny

I want to hear from you – feel free to email ombud@cern.ch with any feedback or suggestions for topics you’d like me to address. 
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