Ethics Network of Multilateral Organisations (ENMO)

Established in 2010, the Ethics Network of Multilateral Organisations (ENMO) brings together senior professionals responsible for the ethics functions in about 60 multilateral inter-governmental organisations.

The ECB is fully committed to matters of ethics and good governance and joined the network in 2019.

Mission

According to its Charter, ENMO works towards achieving the highest standards of integrity for its member organisations by promoting best practices to foster a culture of ethics, transparency and accountability, which are key to good governance and to maintain the trust of stakeholders.

To foster a strong culture of ethics, ENMO provides a forum for members to exchange information and experience for the purpose of broadening the knowledgebase, enhancing the professional capacity and promoting good standards of practice and core responsibilities for the ethics function among member organisations. This is achieved through quarterly meetings, working groups, annual conferences, and a platform to share information.

Membership

Membership of ENMO is institutional and open to multilateral inter-governmental organisations, including but not limited to those that are members of the United Nations family and related organisations, as well as international and regional financial institutions.

Governance

ENMO’s day-to-day business is conducted by an Executive Committee comprised of six ENMO members.

In addition, the work of ENMO and its Executive Committee is supported by two standing committees: 

• The Membership Committee which shall review the applications for membership of ENMO; and
• The Governance Committee which shall regularly review ENMO’s Charter to ensure it remains adequate.

Standards of Practice for Ethics Functions

To fulfil its mission, ENMO strives to broaden the knowledge of its members, enhance the professional capacity of its respective ethics functions and promote good standards of practice in its member organisations. This global collaboration paved the way for the adoption of Standards of Practice for Ethics Functions in April 2025, recognising the value of harmonising practices among member organisations and beyond.

Annual conferences

The ENMO meetings, initiated by the UN organisations, the IMF and the World Bank, are hosted every year by a different member organisation. In recent years, annual conferences have been hosted by the European Patent Office (2019), the World Bank Group (2020), the European Central Bank (2021), UNESCO (2022),the Asian Development Bank (2023), the World Health Organisation (2024), and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (2025). This year, the 18th annual meeting is hosted by UNOPS.

Senior ethics officers from more than 40 multilateral intergovernmental institutions participated in the 13th annual meeting of ENMO, hosted by the ECB in July and November 2021. The event was held online due to coronavirus-related travel restrictions and safety precautions.

President Lagarde opened the annual meeting, inviting delegates to take advantage of the diversity of minds and wealth of collective wisdom to collaborate, share and exchange experience, to anticipate the challenges down the road, and to be courageous in building the best ethics and integrity frameworks.

On 7-8 July 2021 members shared best practices and discussed issues of common concern related to the ethical challenges and risks arising from teleworking and the “new normal”, as well as the internal “speak-up culture” and how to measure and promote the workplace climate. On 17-18 November 2021 members addressed discrimination and racism in international organisations from the perspective of ethics officers, as well as personal use of social media sites and associated ethical risks.

The 13th ENMO annual meeting is dedicated to the memory of the late Olivia Graham, former IMF Ethics Adviser and active promotor of the ENMO network.