gva4HR – ETHICAL PILLARS
(as consolidated from internal exchanges, 2023–2026, to be endorsed at next June 2026 GA)
Normative Foundations of gva4HR
1. PURPOSE AND STATUS OF THE ETHICAL PILLARS
The Ethical Pillars constitute the normative foundation of Geneva for Human Rights – Global Training & Policy Studies (gva4HR).
They define how gva4HR operates, engages, partners, designs programmes, conducts research, supports communities and accompanies institutions.
They are not thematic priorities or strategic options; they are binding ethical thresholds.
All strategic pillars, transversal lenses, programmes, partnerships and internal governance arrangements are required to comply with the Ethical Pillars without exception.
Failure to respect an Ethical Pillar constitutes an ethical breach, regardless of political, strategic, financial, or operational considerations.
2. OVERVIEW OF THE FOUR ETHICAL PILLARS
The Ethical Pillars are four, indivisible and mutually reinforcing:
- Care & Support
Human-Rights-Based Approach² – Centre of Gravity
- Extended FPIC+
Co-Determination of Decisions, Support Systems and Governance
- WEYU + ACE
Women and Girls · Elders · Youth · Un(der)Represented Peoples and Communities · Agency · Care · Empowerment
- Inter-Institutional Synergies
Coherence, Complementarity and Systemic Responsibility
No pillar can be applied in isolation. Ethical integrity requires their simultaneous and coherent application.
3. ETHICAL PILLAR 1 – CARE & SUPPORT
(Human-Rights-Based Approach² – Centre of Gravity)
Care & Support is the ethical centre of gravity of gva4HR’s Human-Rights-Based Approach² (HRBA²).
It reframes human rights from abstract legal entitlements into lived, relational, protective and enabling practices.
Core Meaning
Care & Support governs:
- how dignity is protected,
- how harm is prevented,
- how support systems are designed,
- how institutions relate to people,
- how rights are experienced in practice.
Normative Thresholds
- Non-harm is a minimum requirement, not an aspiration.
- Dignity is operational, not symbolic.
- Support systems are rights-enabling infrastructures, not discretionary services.
Scope of Care
Care & Support integrates:
- physical and psychological integrity,
- social and relational wellbeing,
- cultural safety and identity,
- environmental and ecological care,
- intergenerational responsibility.
Systemic Implications
This pillar requires:
- prevention over reaction,
- accompaniment over extraction,
- sustainability over short-term performance,
- trust and continuity over visibility.
Care & Support governs pace, risk thresholds, methods and exit strategies across all gva4HR activities.
4. ETHICAL PILLAR 2 – EXTENDED FPIC+
(Co-Determination of Decisions and Support Systems)
Extended FPIC+ expands the classical notion of Free, Prior and Informed Consent into a whole-system governance ethic.
It applies not only to land and resources, but also to:
- policies and programmes,
- institutional reforms,
- data and research,
- representation and advocacy,
- care and support systems.
Core Meaning
Extended FPIC+ operationalises:
- self-determination,
- agency,
- reversibility,
- consent as an ongoing process, not a one-time act.
The “+” Dimension
The extension includes:
- collective and individual consent,
- informed refusal as a legitimate outcome,
- continuous and revisable consent,
- culturally grounded decision-making,
- explicit correction of power asymmetries.
Ethical Rules
- Nothing about people without people.
- Silence, dependency, or fear never constitute consent.
- Procedural compliance without power-shift is insufficient.
Extended FPIC+ functions as a double-key legitimacy safeguard for all decisions and interventions.
5. ETHICAL PILLAR 3 – WEYU + ACE
(Participation, Agency, Care, Empowerment)
WEYU + ACE is gva4HR’s ethical lens for who is prioritised, how participation occurs and under what conditions engagement is legitimate.
WEYU – Who is Centred
WEYU includes:
- Women and Girls
- Elders
- Youth
- Un-represented peoples, nations, tribes and communities
- Under-represented peoples, nations, tribes, communities and specific groups or individuals
Denied self-identification is recognised as a structural violation of self-determination, not a procedural omission.
ACE – How Participation Is Made Real
ACE operationalises WEYU through three inseparable conditions:
- Agency
The capacity to decide, refuse, redefine, withdraw and re-engage without penalty or dependency.
- Care
Physical, psychological, cultural, relational and environmental safety as a precondition for participation.
- Empowerment
Access to information, time, resources, skills and supportive structures enabling meaningful influence.
Ethical Function
WEYU + ACE operates as an ethical correction mechanism in power-asymmetric systems.
Without ACE, WEYU risks tokenism.
Without WEYU, ACE risks abstraction.
Participation that does not meet WEYU + ACE standards is ethically invalid, even if procedurally inclusive.
6. ETHICAL PILLAR 4 – INTER-INSTITUTIONAL SYNERGIES
(Coherence, Complementarity and Systemic Responsibility)
Inter-Institutional Synergies define how institutions, mechanisms, actors and governance levels interact in the protection and implementation of human rights.
This pillar recognises that human rights failures are systemic and that fragmentation, competition and siloed action constitute structural risks.
Core Commitments
- Coherence over fragmentation
- Complementarity over duplication
- Subsidiarity with accountability
- Mutual recognition of mandates
- System-wide duty of care
Scope
This pillar applies across:
- international, regional, national and local levels,
- UN mechanisms, NHRIs, NMIRFs,
- local and regional authorities,
- civil society and community structures,
- academic and research institutions.
Ethical Thresholds
Inter-institutional engagement is unethical where:
- institutions act in isolation despite parallel mandates,
- coordination bypasses rights-holders,
- risk is displaced onto communities or defenders,
- competition overrides protection outcomes.
Inter-Institutional Synergies provide the structural backbone enabling the other Ethical Pillars to function coherently across systems.
7. INTERNAL COHERENCE OF THE ETHICAL PILLARS
| Pillar | Governs |
| Care & Support | Protection, dignity, prevention, continuity |
| Extended FPIC+ | Decision legitimacy and consent integrity |
| WEYU + ACE | Participation, safeguarding, agency |
| Inter-Institutional Synergies | Systemic coherence and shared responsibility |
They are inseparable and non-hierarchical, yet functionally differentiated.
8. BINDING NATURE
The Ethical Pillars are:
- non-derogable,
- cross-cutting,
- binding on all programmes, partnerships and internal processes.
They apply internally and externally, regardless of context, geography, or institutional setting.