Statues of Association

Name and Headquarters

Article 1

HEAR THEIR CRIES – STOP CHILD RAPE IN AID is a non-profit association governed by the present statutes and, secondly, by Articles 60 et seq. of the Swiss Civil Code. It is neutral politically, and non-denominational.

Article 2

The Organization’s headquarters are located in the State of Geneva. The Executive Committee shall from time to to time determine the physical location of the Association. The Association shall be of limited duration.

AIMS

Article 3

The Association shall pursue the following aim(s):

Achieve universal recognition amongst all relevant organisations, including but not limited to, UN Agencies, Funds, Programs and related organisations, international donors, NGOs and all actors in international humanitarian and development operations (hereinafter referred to as ‘organisations’), that there shall be ‘Zero Tolerance’ of child sex crimes.
Achieve universal recognition amongst all organisations that predatory pedophiles are now targeting the developing world and charities working with children, to gain access to children for exploitation.
Achieve universal acceptance from all organisations that given the vulnerability of organisations to being targeted by predatory pedophiles, that organisations have a higher than normal obligation to train staff in prevention, and detection of pedophilia amongst their own staff, contractors and contracting organisations.
Achieve a universal agreement from all organisations that ‘Zero tolerance’ means, amongst other things, that legal immunity, of what ever type, will never be sought nor asserted for those accused of child sex crimes and hence no legal immunity will never be sought nor asserted.
Achieve a universal consensus from all organisations that any suspicion or evidence of child sex crimes against a staff member will be reported to both the authorities in the country of incident and reported to authorities in the staff member’s country of residence and country of nationality.
Achieve universal agreement that all statistics on numbers of people reported to authorities on suspicion of taking part in child sex crimes will be made public. If a suspect is reported, investigated and convicted in a competent court then that person’s name will also be published, unless it is in the best interest of the victim to withhold the name.
Achieve a universal recognition from all organisations that child sex crimes by staff members could well be crimes both in the country of perpetration and, via extra-jurisdictional impact of counter sex tourism laws, countries of residence and/or nationality. To not report evidence and suspicion back to countries of residence and/or nationality represents an undermining of the sovereignty of the country of residence and/or nationality.
Immunity for international organisations should not extend to the extra-territorial impacts of child sex tourism laws.
Ensure all organisations that come in contact with children, to implement specific best practices to eliminate the recruiting of individuals who can be identified as representing a higher risk of perpetrating sexual offences, or of assigning such individuals to work in positions offering opportunities to sexually exploit or abuse vulnerable women and children.
Achieve the creation of an independent and robust confidential whistle blowing procedures and protections to facilitate the identification and reporting of sexual predators among their staff, consultants or peacekeepers. To which end, the Association shall facilitate reporting on behalf of staff members and shall compile and maintain a searchable database of such complaints.
Ensure that the General Assembly of the United Nations establishes an external investigative process, completely independent of the UN Secretariat and the current UN oversight system, to investigate UN staff in a separate structure from investigations against peacekeepers accused of child sexual offences.
Ensure the UN member states amend the Statute of the International Criminal Court or to establish an alternative independent mechanism to criminally charge organisations’ staff for child sex crimes where no other competent judicial body with jurisdiction over the perpetrator meets the required minimum standards of due process, rule of law and human rights under the Universal Declaration of Human Rights or other applicable international instruments.
Ensure that all organisations record and maintain a searchable database of the DNA of all staff, consultants and attached peacekeeping personnel, which database shall be accessible for investigative purposes upon request of any UN member state or investigative or judicial body referred to in paras 4 or 5 above.
Ensure that proper compensation of child rape victims and their families from perpetrators and their employers, and to grant them asylum where appropriate

Resources

Article 4

The Association’s resources are derived from:

donations and legacies;
sponsorship;
public subsidies;
membership fees;
any other resources authorized by the law.

The funds shall be used in accordance with the Association’s social aims.

Members

Article 5

Any physical or moral person may become a member if (i) they have demonstrated their dedication to the goals of the Association through their commitments or actions, and (ii) provided that they are not employed by the Association. The Association comprises:

Founding members whose majority collective votes shall always amount to 50.1 percent of all votes cast in a General or Extraordinary Session of the Association–should the vote of the founding members be tied, the vote of founding member David Lawson shall be definitive. The original founding members are:
1. Andrew MacLeod;
2. David Lawson;
3. Abbe Jolles;
4. Peter Gallo.
active members (as defined by the Executive Committee);
honorary members (as defined by the Executive Committee); and
associate members (as defined by the Executive Committee).

Requests to become a member must be addressed to the Committee. The Committee admits new members and informs the General Assembly accordingly.

Membership ceases:

On death;
By written resignation thereby notifying the Committee at least six months before the end of the financial year;
By exclusion ordered by the Committee, for just cause, with a right of appeal to the General Assembly. Appeals must be lodged within 30 days of the Committee’s decision being notified;
For non-payment of dues for more than one year.

In all cases the membership fee for the current year remains due. Members who have resigned or who are excluded have no rights to any part of the Association’s assets.

Only the Association’s assets may be used for obligations/commitments contracted in its name. Members have no personal liability.

Organs

Article 6

The Association shall include the following organs:

General Assembly,
Executive Committee,

General Assembly

Article 7

The General Assembly is the Association’s supreme authority. It is composed of all the members.

It shall hold an Ordinary Meeting once each year. It may also hold an extraordinary session whenever necessary, at the request of the Committee or at least of one-fifth of its members.

The General Assembly shall be considered valid regardless of the number of members present.

The Committee shall inform the members in writing of the date of the General Assembly at least six weeks in advance. The notification, including the proposed agenda, shall be sent to each member at least 10 days prior to the date of the meeting.

Article 8

The General Assembly:

Shall approve the admission and expulsion of members;
Appoints the members of the Committee and elects, at a minimum, the President, the Secretary and the Treasurer;
Notes the contents of the reports and financial statements for the year and votes on their adoption;
Approves the annual budget;
Supervises the activity of other organs, which it may dismiss, stating the grounds therefore;
Appoints an auditor for the Organization’s accounts;
Decides on any modification of statutes;
Decides on the dissolution of the Association;
Fixes the annual membership fees.

Article 9

The General Assembly is presided over by the President of the Association or, in his or her absence, a person elected as chair solely for the purpose of said meeting by a majority of the General Assembly in attendance.

Article 10

Decisions of the General Assembly shall be taken by a majority vote of the members present. In case of deadlock, the President shall have the casting vote.

Decisions concerning the amendment of the Statutes and the dissolution of the Association must be approved by a two-third majority of the members present.

Article 11

Votes are by a show of hands. Voting can also take place by secret ballot, if at least five members request it.

Article 12

The agenda of the ordinary annual session of the General Assembly must include:

Approval of the Minutes of the previous General Assembly
Approval of the Committee’s annual Activity Report
Approval of the report of the Treasurer and of the Auditor
Setting of membership fees
Approval of the budget
Approval of reports and accounts
Election of Committee members and Auditor
Miscellaneous business

Committee

Article 13

The Committee is authorized to carry out all acts that further the purposes of the Association. It has the most extensive powers to manage the Association’s day-to-day affairs.

Article 14

The Committee is composed of at least three (3) members elected by the General Assembly. Each member’s term of office shall last for two (2) years and renewable three (3) times. The Committee meets as often as the Association’s business requires.

Article 15

The Committee members work on a volunteer basis and as such can only be reimbursed for their actual expenses and travel costs. Potential attendance fees cannot exceed those paid for official commissions. For activities beyond the usual function, each Committee member is eligible for appropriate compensation. The paid employees of the Association have only a consultative vote on the Committee.

Article 16

The functions of the Committee are:

to take the appropriate measures to achieve the goals of the Association;
to convene the ordinary and extraordinary General Assemblies;
to take decisions with regard to admission of new members as well as the resignation and possible expulsion of members;
to ensure that Statutes are applied, to draft rules of procedure, and to administer the assets of the Association.

Auditor

Article 17

Each year the General Assembly appoints one auditor. It may also entrust this task to a fiduciary company.

The auditor(s) shall check the operating and annual accounts prepared by the committee and present a written and detailed report to the annual ordinary general meeting.

Article 18

The Association is legally bound by the joint signature of the President and a member of the Committee.

Signature of Representation

Article 19

The financial year shall begin on 1 January and end on 31 December of each year.

Article 20

Should the Association be dissolved, the available assets should be transferred to a non-profit organization pursuing public interest goals similar to those of the Association and likewise benefiting from tax exemption. Under no circumstances should the assets be returned to the founders or members. Nor should they use a part or a total of assets for their own benefit.

The present Statutes have been approved by the Constituent General Assembly of 20th September 2017 at Geneva.