Chapter 7 Programme procedures and field support A trial-monitoring programme is an activity that involves a high level of co-ordination and consistency of methodology among monitors. Although trial-monitoring is a collective exercise with a team quality, the act of monitoring, including observation and reporting, is performed mainly as an individual activity or in pairs. Maintaining the integrity of a programme requires basic operational controls, including programme procedures and the provision of adequate field support. Guidelines and procedures related to the issues of access and reporting have been specifically addressed in previous chapters. This chapter provides an overview of those remaining areas where monitoring guidelines and procedures are useful to organize operations, including the provision of field support. 7.1 Code of conduct A professional code of conduct for monitors and other staff safeguards the integrity of the monitoring programme, and in particular, how external actors and the public perceive monitoring and the programme. A code of conduct incorporates the principles of the programme into the working methods of the monitors and other staff by providing overarching standards of conduct. In this way, codes of conduct formalize general monitoring principles such as non-intervention and other operational values into a set of professional standards. As an internal mechanism, a code of conduct also helps to ensure that monitors adhere to common procedures. Codes of conduct therefore provide a basis to establish monitor accountability. However, unlike monitoring guidelines or instructions, which address specific case monitoring and reporting responsibilities, a code of conduct applies broadly across all a monitor’s activities. Codes of conduct should be put in writing and may be included as part of a programme’s written monitoring guidelines for the reference of all staff. Where monitors are contracted and not subject to OSCE staff rules and regulations, the code of conduct may also be annexed into the monitoring contract to further emphasize the monitor’s professional obligations. Since programmes may adopt different operating principles, or apply principles differently, there is no one definitive professional code of conduct. In the OSCE, however, codes have been drafted that serve to further the three basic working principles below. Trial-Monitoring: A Reference Manual for Practitioners 87