Ugandan North American Association (UNAA) Code of Conduct and Ethics (the “Code”) indicates our commitment to the maintenance of the highest moral and ethical standards. UNAA is an association that from time to time engages in business transactions in North America and Uganda.
Dear Member:
Our Code is a reaffirmation of UNAA’s commitment to conduct its business ethically and to observe both the spirit and the letter of applicable laws, rules and regulations.
During the development of our UNAA strategic plan, we identified the principles we believe are required to achieve success. At the heart of each of these is integrity. This simple word is the fundamental value at UNAA, driving the way we conduct our business.
UNAA’s reputation and continued success is dependent upon the conduct of its members. Each member, as a custodian of UNAA’s good name, has a personal responsibility to ensure that his or her conduct protects and promotes both the letter of the Code and its spirit of ethical conduct. Your adherence to these ethical principles is fundamental to UNAA’s future success.
Our Code cannot provide definitive answers to all questions. Accordingly, we expect each member to exercise reasonable judgment to determine whether a course of action is consistent with our ethical standards and to seek guidance when appropriate. The chairman of the Audit committee or the board of directors will often be the person who can provide you with thoughtful, practical guidance in UNAA business duties.
I entrust these principles and policies to you. Please give them your thoughtful and frequent attention.
Sincerely,
Francis Ssennoga
President UNAA
October 2011
The Code is designed to provide guidance on matters that affect our officials and members worldwide; accordingly, all UNAA officials and members worldwide must adhere to the Code, unless (i) local law dictates a higher standard, in which case the higher standard shall be followed, or (ii) a provision violates local law, in which case that provision of the Code shall be deemed modified to comply with applicable law. The Code is not intended to confer on non-citizens or foreign workers any rights that they are not entitled to under applicable local law. In addition to the Code, you must follow the laws of each jurisdiction in which you are conducting business, and to all other relevant UNAA policies.
This Code is hereby introduced as UNAA’s official Code of Business Conduct; however, previous conduct that is illegal, unethical or against any existing policy shall not be excused. The Code is not intended, and does not in any way, constitute a contract or an assurance of continued membership. UNAA does not create any contractual rights by issuing the Code or other policies and do not guarantee membership or tenure of office for any specific duration.
UNAA may amend, modify or waive any provisions of the Code at its sole discretion. To the extent required by applicable law or regulation (a) only our Board of Directors may waive compliance with the Code for executive officers or Branch officers, and (b) we will report promptly any waiver of compliance with the Code for executive officers or Branch officers.
UNAA has developed this Code of Business Conduct and Ethics (the “Code”), to aid its directors and members in making ethical and legal decisions when conducting UNAA’s business and performing UNAA duties.
All references in the Code to “members” should be understood to include all director, officers and members of UNAA, unless the context requires otherwise.
Responsibility for administering and interpreting this Code is delegated to the Audit Committee. Other members of UNAA board will be kept informed of matters that may arise under this Code and become involved as appropriate. Ultimate responsibility for overseeing compliance with this Code and resolving the most sensitive issues rests with the Board of Directors.
UNAA expects its members to exercise reasonable judgment when conducting UNAA’s business. UNAA encourages its members to refer to this Code frequently to ensure that they are acting within both the letter and the spirit of this Code. UNAA also understands that this Code will not contain the answer to every situation you may encounter or every concern you may have about conducting UNAA’s business ethically and legally. In these situations, or if you otherwise have questions or concerns about this Code, UNAA encourages each member to speak with his local UNAA Chairperson (If Applicable) or, if you are uncomfortable doing that, with any member of the UNAA Audit Committee.
Contents of this Code
This Code has 7 sections which follow this Introduction. The third section, “Fundamental Ethical Principles,” contains the actual guidelines that our members are expected to adhere to in the conduct of our business. Describe the other sections in one sentence here.
A Note About Other Obligations
UNAA’s members generally have other legal and contractual obligations to UNAA. This Code is in addition to all other policies of UNAA and is not intended to reduce or limit the other obligations that you may have to UNAA. Instead, the standards in this Code should be viewed as the minimum standards that we expect from our members in the conduct of UNAA’s business.
The fundamental ethical principles that guide our business activities are described below, followed by complete business conduct policies.
Protect Our Funds and Property. You must approach all matters concerning funds and property held by us with care, diligence and honesty.
· Protect Confidential Information. You must protect and keep confidential all non-public information belonging to, in the possession of, or about our members, our branches, our business partners and us. You must not share confidential information with friends, relatives or non-members or discuss confidential matters in public places, such as chat rooms, radio talk shows or other prohibited forums.
· Avoid Conflicts of Interest. A conflict of interest occurs when your personal interests interfere or conflict in any way (or appear to interfere or conflict) with UNAA’s. Since business decisions must be made in UNAA’s best interests and not be motivated by your personal interest or gain, you must avoid conflicts of interest, both real and perceived. You must recognize that even the appearance of impropriety can be damaging to UNAA’s reputation.