Accountability

Oxfam International believes that citizens have a right to hold governments and institutions accountable, to expect them to respect their rights and do what they say they will do.

Likewise, we believe that non-governmental organizations should be accountable to the communities in which they work, to partner organizations, and to those from whom they receive support.

To that end, we publish our Strategic Plan 2007-2012, "Demanding Justice," and our internal governance rules and policies, our compliance with required standards, voluntary codes of conduct and the results of our work through evaluations, including a major evaluation – "Promises to keep" – of our Strategic Plan, 2001-2006 "Towards Global Equity."

In a sign of our commitment to transparency, Oxfam International signed up to the first Global Accountability Charter for the non-profit sector (pdf, 61kb) in June 2006. This charter sets out core values and operating principles for international agencies, against which Oxfam gauges and reports publicly on our economic, environmental and social performance.

Governance principles