Complaints and integrity reporting

• 1.1 A complaint about a Service, a page, a decision taken under the policies of the Site, the handling of personal information, accessibility or the conduct of a person acting for the publisher.
• 1.2 An integrity concern: fabrication, falsification or plagiarism in research; an undisclosed conflict of interest; undue influence of a sponsor, funder or provider on a finding; fraud, corruption or misuse of funds; a breach of sanctions or export-control law; harassment, discrimination or abuse; or retaliation against anyone who raised a concern.

• 2.1 Write to contact@kurds.global, marking the message confidential if it concerns integrity. Describe what happened, when, who was involved as far as you know, and any evidence.
• 2.2 A concern may be raised without giving a name. An anonymous report is assessed in the same way, though the publisher cannot ask questions about it or report back without a means of contact.
• 2.3 Privacy complaints may also follow the route of the Privacy Policy.

• 3.1 Every complaint or report is acknowledged with a reference and assessed. A matter that needs investigation is investigated proportionately, fairly and promptly, by people who are independent of those concerned and who declare any conflict of interest.
• 3.2 People who are the subject of a report are told of it at an appropriate time and given the chance to respond. The person who raised the matter is told the outcome, within the limits of confidentiality and of the rights of others.
• 3.3 The outcome and the reasons are recorded. Where a finding is affected, a correction or retraction is published under the Corrections and Right of Reply Policy.

• 4.1 The identity of a person who raises a concern is kept confidential and shared only with those who need it to handle the matter, or where the law requires it.
• 4.2 No one is penalised or treated less favourably for raising a concern in good faith, even if it is not upheld. Retaliation is a serious breach of the Code of Conduct.
• 4.3 Nothing in this procedure limits a person's right to report a matter to a competent authority, or any protection the law gives to those who report wrongdoing.

• 5.1 A person who is not satisfied with the outcome may ask that it be reviewed by the governing body of KCO, by writing to the same address with the reference.
• 5.2 Concerns about personal information may be taken to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada where PIPEDA applies, and the provincial privacy authority where substantially similar provincial law applies (the Commission d’accès à l’information du Québec, and the Information and Privacy Commissioners of Alberta and British Columbia), and concerns about accessibility to the body that enforces accessibility law where you live. Nothing in this procedure prevents recourse to the courts.

• 6.1 This procedure is not an emergency service. A person in danger should contact the local emergency services or the competent public authority.

Prepared for review by legal counsel before adoption.