AEGEE stands for values of diversity, dialogue and mutual understanding, with its core being the respect of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. With this Code of Conduct, AEGEE is committing to abolish any possibility of multiple discrimination, physical or verbal abuse and violence and any act against dignity of an individual or a group within the organisation. This Code of Conduct shall foster equal participation and opportunities, safe spaces and mutual respect, by assuring that the core values of AEGEE are reflected in the behaviour of its members.

Article 1: Definitions

For the purposes of this Code of Conduct, the following terms may be used and shall have the meaning as explained below:

• Simple discrimination – In simple discrimination, “only one stimulus condition exerts control over a response”.
• Multiple discrimination – Multiple discrimination takes place when someone is discriminated against for more than one reason, for example on the basis of gender and religion, age and ethnicity, etc.; and thus takes into account an intersectional approach.
• Non-inclusive language – Language that treats people unfairly, insults, or excludes a person or group of people.
• Inclusive language – Language that avoids the use of certain expressions or words that might be considered to exclude particular groups of people, such as using guys when referring to a group of people, the use of which might be considered to exclude women and people who identify as non-binary.
• Non-violent communication – Non-violent communication is a manner of communication which focuses on communicating compassionately where you observe without judgement, take responsibility for your feelings and make the connection between feelings and unmet needs in an individual, in order to make specific, doable requests, to which people can respond compassionately.
• Ordinary members – The associations (Locals), which have signed the Convention d’Adhésion, who undertake to respect the Statutes of the association and its internal working formats; and the AEGEE partner associations, which have signed the Convention d’Adhésion, who undertake and respect the Statutes of the association and its internal working formats.
• Universal Declaration of Human Rights – was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 (General Assembly resolution 217 A) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected and it has been translated into over 500 languages.
• Psychological harassment – Humiliating, intimidating or abusive behaviour which is often difficult to detect, leaving no evidence other than victim reports or complaints.
• Consent – A freely, wilfully and voluntarily agreement between people for something to happen or an agreement to do something. Consent can be taken away at any point in time. Consent cannot be given by individuals who are under the applicable age of consent, intoxicated or incapacitated by drugs or alcohol, asleep, unconscious, or influenced by their mental state in their ability to make decisions and/or be aware of a situation. If someone agrees to an activity under pressure of intimidation or threat, this is not considered consent as it was not given freely.
• Sexual harassment – Unwelcome behavior of a sexual nature, which can involve one or more incidents, related, but not limited to making sexual comments, inappropriate sexual gestures, sending sexually suggestive communications, attempted or actual sexual assault and unwelcome touching. Anyone can be a victim of sexual harassment, regardless of their gender and the gender of the harasser.
• Sexual assault – Intentional sexual contact, characterised by use of force, threats, intimidation, abuse of authority or when the victim does not or cannot consent. It includes rape, forcible sodomy and other unwanted indecent contact (e.g., kissing against another person’s will) that is aggravated, abusive or wrongful (to include unwanted and inappropriate sexual contact), or attempts to commit these acts.
• Safe space – A place or environment in which a person or category of people can feel confident that they will not be exposed to discrimination, harassment, or any other emotional or physical harm.
• Safe persons – Youth workers trained to prevent, detect and react to cases of sexual harassment in the organisation. They are present at events to help raise awareness about the topic, intervene in questionable situations and provide a listening ear to victims.
• Verbal harassment – The use of words to cause harm to the person being spoken to.
• Abuse of power – Wrongful use of authority or privileged position to influence others or use their powers and rights for their own personal interest against the interests of the group.

Article 2: Purpose

The aim of this Code of Conduct is to ensure a diverse, safe and inclusive environment based on the values of equity and mutual understanding, without barriers, including but not limited to mobility, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, disability as well as socio-economic background; as well as to promote mutual respect and encourage full participation in all the bodies and events of the AEGEE-Europe.

Article 3: Scope

The Code of Conduct shall be applicable to all AEGEE members, including, but not only during its events and activities. This document shall be a guide and manifesto for all members in representing the core values of the association. The Code of Conduct applies to both, formal and informal settings.

The Code of Conduct shall additionally be applicable to all people, including those that are not AEGEE members, during the participation and attendance of events and activities of AEGEE.

Article 4: Misconduct and punishable offences

The following behaviour shall be considered misconduct:

• Simple or multiple discrimination of a lighter grade, in unrepeated;
• Negligence in performance of duties for Agora elected bodies and Comité Directeur appointed bodies.

The following behaviour shall be considered a punishable offence:

• Repeated acts of simple or multiple discrimination;
• Sexual assault and harassment;
• Physical or verbal assault and abuse;
• Gross violation of principles of privacy of individuals;
• Damage to personal property, property of AEGEE-Europe or public property;
• Theft;
• Conscious and knowledgeable sharing of internal confidential data to unauthorised persons without the consent of the Data Privacy Commission;
• Breach of health and safety rules as set by the organisers of events and the relevant authorities;
• Violation of international or local laws;
• Abuse of power.

In case of any of the above mentioned actions, procedures defined in Article 10 can be invoked by any member of AEGEE, affected by these or a direct witness of them.

Article 5: Acts of Discriminations and violence

AEGEE-Europe, advocating for young people all around Europe to meet and learn from each other in order to foster mutual understanding, to break stereotypes and strengthen tolerance, respect and solidarity, and promote equity from an intersectional perspective, rejects and condemns any kind of violence and discrimination as the ones based on:

• age;
• citizenship;
• disabilities, or impairments of any kind;
• education and socio-economic background;
• physical appearance;
• place of origin;
• gender, including gender identity or gender expression;
• sexual orientation;
• race;
• religion.

Article 6: Inclusive language and non-violent communication

At all times inclusiveness in the association shall be fostered, including through the use of inclusive language. Additionally, non-violent communication methods shall be applied and fostered, to assure a meaningful dialogue between our members, but also externally.

Article 7: General rules of behaviour

AEGEE-Europe requires that the behaviour of any individual participating in any offline or online activity of AEGEE or representing externally AEGEE-Europe must be coherent with the values and principles of AEGEE as aforementioned and promote inside the Network inclusive, safe and accessible spaces, while using non-violent communication.

Article 8: Violations

A violation shall be understood as any action against this Code of Conduct as well as the core values and principles of AEGEE.

Article 9: Reporting and points of contact

In case of any misconduct, the Comité Directeur shall be the point of contact and responsible structure for the execution of the procedure. If deemed necessary, the Mediation Commission shall be informed of the events and involved in their resolution.

In case of sexual harassment or assault, the Safe Person Committee and the Pool of Safe Persons shall be considered the point of contact and structure responsible for the execution of the procedure as well as informing the person affected of the different complaint mechanisms in place. Anyone subject to sexual harassment has the possibility to choose one of three complaint mechanisms as detailed in Article 11.

In case of physical or verbal assault or abuse, the Mediation Commission or the Comité Directeur shall be considered the point of contact and structures responsible for the execution of the procedure.

In case of conscious and knowledgeable sharing of internal confidential data to unauthorised persons, the Data Privacy Commission shall be considered the point of contact and structure responsible for the execution of the procedure.

In case of any other punishable offence, the Comité Directeur shall be the point of contact and structure responsible for the execution of the procedure. If deemed necessary, other structures of AEGEE-Europe may be involved to support the resolution of the situation.

Reports can be made in written or, if necessary, verbal form to the respective structures directly. In case of any structure not being present or reachable at the moment, the Mediation Commission may always act as a substitute and facilitate the process.

Article 10: Procedure and sanctions

Depending on the nature and severity of the violation of the Code of Conduct, the following procedures may apply:

• In case of repeated misconduct or punishable offences during events, Article 1, 2 and 3 of the Policy on Banning People of AEGEE-Europe can apply;
• In case of any punishable offences, Article 4 and 6 of the Policy on Banning People of AEGEE-Europe can apply.
• In case of punishable offences committed by Ordinary members of AEGEE-Europe, Article 24 of the Statutes of AEGEE-Europe, Article 4 of the Commission Rules of AEGEE-Europe and the Working Format of the Mediation Commission can apply.
• In case of conscious and knowledgeable sharing of internal confidential data to unauthorised persons, Article 8 of the Data Privacy Policy Statement, and/or Article 4 and 7 of the Policy on Banning People may apply.

Article 11: Complaint mechanisms regarding sexual harassment

With respect to the wishes of the person(s) affected and the advice of the Safe Person Committee or the designated Safe Person of the event the following complaint mechanisms shall be invoked:

• Informal complaint mechanism – If the person(s) harmed wishes to deal with the matter informally, the point of contact has to facilitate a discussion between all parties involved to achieve an informal and amicable resolution which is acceptable to the complainant(s), or refer the matter to a member of the Mediation Commission to strive for an amicable settlement.
• Formal complaint mechanism inside the organisation – If the person(s) harmed wishes to make a formal complaint or if the informal complaint mechanism has not led to a satisfactory outcome for the person(s) affected, the formal complaint mechanism should be used to resolve the matter. In this case, the point of contact has to conduct a detailed investigation on the incident, separately interviewing the victim, the potential perpetrator(s) and the third parties in order to assess what transpired. The point of contact shall produce a report detailing the investigation, with the recommendations of further actions to be taken.
• Outside complaint mechanism – A person can also make a complaint outside of AEGEE-Europe through the relevant legal framework such as the police or the relevant embassy, or the hospital. The point of contact shall in this case offer assistance to the person affected in relation to making such a complaint.

The point of contact shall in case of any of the invoked mechanisms offer the person(s) affected support by making them feel safe, believed and listened to, as well as ensure that a confidential record is kept of the executed mechanism(s).

Article 12: Legal steps

The above-mentioned regulations and mediation measures do not interfere with the harmed person’s or harmed group’s legal rights to bring legal action against the offender(s).

Article 13: Complaint mechanisms regarding sexual harassment

To assure the privacy of individuals and groups, the Data Privacy Policy Statement and the Policy on Banning People of AEGEE-Europe shall apply.