M12. PROHIBITION ON REQUIRING CERTAIN INTERNAL
CONFIDENTIALITY AGREEMENTS OR STATEMENTS (MAY 2017)
(a) Definitions.
“Contract” has the meaning given in 2 CFR Part 200.
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“Contractor” means an entity that receives a contract as defined in 2 CFR Part
200.
“Internal confidentiality agreement or statement” means a confidentiality
agreement or any other written statement that the recipient requires any of its
employees or subrecipients to sign regarding nondisclosure of recipient
information, except that it does not include confidentiality agreements arising out
of civil litigation or confidentiality agreements that recipient employees or
subrecipients sign at the behest of a Federal agency.
“Subaward” has the meaning given in 2 CFR Part 200.
“Subrecipient” has the meaning given in 2 CFR Part 200.
(b) The recipient must not require its employees, subrecipients, or contractors to
sign or comply with internal confidentiality agreements or statements that prohibit
or otherwise restrict employees, subrecipients, or contractors from lawfully
reporting waste, fraud, or abuse related to the performance of a Federal award to
a designated investigative or law enforcement representative of a Federal
department or agency authorized to receive such information (for example, the
Agency Office of the Inspector General).
(c) The recipient must notify current employees and subrecipients that prohibitions
and restrictions of any preexisting internal confidentiality agreements or
statements covered by this provision, to the extent that such prohibitions and
restrictions are inconsistent with the prohibitions of this provision, are no longer in
effect.
(d) The prohibition in paragraph (b) of this provision does not contravene the
requirements applicable to Standard Form 312 (Classified Information
Nondisclosure Agreement), Form 4414 (Sensitive Compartmented Information
Nondisclosure Agreement), or any other form issued by a Federal department or
agency governing the nondisclosure of classified information.
(e) In accordance with section 743 of Division E, Title VII, of the Consolidated and
Further Continuing Appropriations Act, 2015, (Pub. L. 113-235), and its successor
provisions in subsequent appropriations acts (and as extended in continuing
resolutions) use of funds appropriated (or otherwise made available) is prohibited,
if the Government determines that the recipient is not in compliance with the
requirements of this provision.
(f) The recipient must include the substance of this provision, including this
paragraph (f), in subawards and contracts under such awards.
(End of Provision)
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M13. CHILD SAFEGUARDING (June 2015)
(a) Because the activities to be funded under this award may involve children, or
personnel engaged in the implementation of the award may come into contact
with children, these activities could raise the risk of child abuse, exploitation, or
neglect within USAID-funded programs. The organization agrees to abide by the
following child safeguarding core principles:
(1) Ensure compliance with host country and local child welfare and protection
legislation or international standards, whichever gives greater protection, and
with U.S. law where applicable;
(2) Prohibit all personnel from engaging in child abuse, exploitation, or neglect;
(3) Consider child safeguarding in project planning and implementation to
determine potential risks to children that are associated with project activities
and operations;
(4) Apply measures to reduce the risk of child abuse, exploitation, or neglect,
including, but not limited to, limiting unsupervised interactions with children;
prohibiting exposure to pornography; and complying with applicable laws,
regulations, or customs regarding the photographing, filming, or other imagegenerating activities of children;
(5) Promote child-safe screening procedures for personnel, particularly personnel
whose work brings them in direct contact with children; and
(6) Have a procedure for ensuring that personnel and others recognize child
abuse, exploitation, or neglect; mandating that personnel and others report
allegations; investigating and managing allegations; and taking appropriate
action in response to such allegations, including, but not limited to, dismissal
of personnel.
(b) The organization must also include in their code of conduct for all personnel
implementing USAID-funded activities the child safeguarding principles in (a) (1)
through (6).
(c) The following definitions apply for purposes of this provision:
(1) Child: A child or children are defined as persons who have not attained 18
years of age.
(2) Child abuse, exploitation, or neglect: Constitutes any form of physical abuse;
emotional ill-treatment; sexual abuse; neglect or insufficient supervision;
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trafficking; or commercial, transactional, labor, or other exploitation resulting
in actual or potential harm to the child’s health, well-being, survival,
development, or dignity. It includes, but is not limited to: any act or failure to
act which results in death, serious physical or emotional harm to a child, or an
act or failure to act which presents an imminent risk of serious harm to a child.
(3) Physical abuse: Constitutes acts or failures to act resulting in injury (not
necessarily visible), unnecessary or unjustified pain or suffering without
causing injury, harm or risk of harm to a child’s health or welfare, or death.
Such acts may include, but are not limited to: punching, beating, kicking,
biting, shaking, throwing, stabbing, choking, or hitting (regardless of object
used), or burning. These acts are considered abuse regardless of whether
they were intended to hurt the child.
(4) Sexual Abuse: Constitutes fondling a child's genitals, penetration, incest,
rape, sodomy, indecent exposure, and exploitation through prostitution or the
production of pornographic materials.
(5) Emotional abuse or ill treatment: Constitutes injury to the psychological
capacity or emotional stability of the child caused by acts, threats of acts, or
coercive tactics. Emotional abuse may include, but is not limited to:
humiliation, control, isolation, withholding of information, or any other
deliberate activity that makes the child feel diminished or embarrassed.
(6) Exploitation: Constitutes the abuse of a child where some form of
remuneration is involved or whereby the perpetrators benefit in some manner.
Exploitation represents a form of coercion and violence that is detrimental to
the child’s physical or mental health, development, education, or well-being.
(7) Neglect: Constitutes failure to provide for a child's basic needs within USAIDfunded activities that are responsible for the care of a child in the absence of
the child's parent or guardian.
(d) The recipient must insert the provisions in (a) and (b) in all subawards under this
award.
