Diversity, Inclusion, Member’s Rights and Responsibilities
IAATI is a volunteer-based organization that relies of the involvement, contribution, and leadership of its members. As such IAATI welcomes and recognizes the efforts, rights, and contributions of all members regardless of their cultural, religion, gender, political or economic background.
Therefore, IAATI is committed to advancing the values of diversity, equity, inclusion and protecting the rights of our members and our industry partners. IAATI does not tolerate any sexual harrassment, harrassment or any discrimination of any kind. If a member has experienced any of these please report them to the Executive Director at executivedirector@iaati.org.
To demonstrate our commitment to these principles, we have taken several steps to enshrine them into all aspects of the Association, including:
1. Inclusion of a Preamble to our Constitution and By-laws
At our August 2021 AGM the Membership approved the inclusion of the following preamble to our constitution to recognize members rights and to ratify IAATI’s commitment to combat all forms of discrimination and promote respect for human rights. A copy of the preamble is presented below:
Preamble
IAATI promotes that all actions, activities and relationships, among its members, must be inspired by fair and equitable treatment, within a framework of courtesy.
IAATI ratifies the firm commitment to combat any form of discrimination, promoting respect for human rights and freedom, without distinction of race, color, sexual orientation, gender identity, language, religion, political opinion, national or social origin, economic situation, birth or any other condition.
This Constitution and every other document the organization is led by, is based on our:
VISION: To be the recognized global expert and leading provider of training on the deterrence, prevention, investigation, and prosecution of vehicle crimes.
MISSION: To provide a global approach in the fight against vehicle crime while providing effective, specialized training and unparalleled networking to our members.
VALUES:
Integrity: We always strive to do what’s right.
Commitment: We do what we say we are going to do.
Professionalism: We require high standards of conduct by our members and affiliates.
Teamwork: We work together as a team for the greater good of the organization.
Respect: We always treat others with honesty and courtesy.
The actions of IAATI´s members must be guided by these and must be reflected in their work and daily activities. They must defend these values in a practical manner through their actions and behavior.
2. Removal of all gender specific references
In 2021 we also reviewed the wording of our Constitution that was written in 1952. To reflect current thinking and expectations, we amended the Constitution to remove all gender specific terminology.
3. IAATI Leadership Pledge
IAATI relies of the involvement, contribution, and leadership of its members. As such IAATI welcomes and recognizes the efforts of all members regardless of their cultural, religion, gender, political or economic background. In line with this philosophy the international leadership team have signed a pledge to respect and promote the rights of all members and combat all forms of discrimination. A copy of this commitment is shown below:
4. Release a video recognising the contribution of women in IAATI.
In support of International Women's Day on March 8th, 2021, IAATI released a video celebrating the contribution of the women serving in leadership positions within IAATI.
An English version of the video can be viewed at: https://vimeo.com/520150786 or a Spanish version of the video can be viewed at: https://vimeo.com/520423422
5. Establishment of a Community and Culture Development Committee
This committee reviews and develops the IAATI membership into a unified and united family to achieve our mutual objectives to prevent, investigate vehicle crimes. Knowing it will be through the coaching of our understanding of the differences and strengths that each member brings, we enable a stronger interactive and respectful culture to our organization’s DNA. The reality is vehicle crimes are global and it will be these very differences that provide our association’s ability to network and support those we can serve in combat these crimes.
Committee Chair: Ana Laura Brizuela Send email
District Attorney Buenos Aires, Argentina
Members: Cora Smolianski Send email
Superintendencia de Seguros de la Nación Buenos Aires, Argentina
Kat Anderson Send email
SPATTF (Ret'd) Corinth, TX USA
Cathy Horton Send email
Queensland Police (Retired) / Dept of Transport, Brisbane, Australia
Adv. Jacob van Garderen Send email
The Public Interest Practice South Africa
Dennis Doherty Send email
Wayne CO (MI) Prosecutor's Office Detroit, MI USA
Renato Schipani Send email
INTERPOL Lyon, France
6. Establishment of an Independent Complaints Reporting Mechanism
In 2021 IAATI engaged a specialist independent company called the ‘Public Interest Practice’ to establish a confidential complaint reporting service. Individuals who believe they have been discriminated against, or subject of any form of abuse or bullying, etc. can choose between lodging a complaint to the IAATI Ethics Committee or to contact the Public Interest Practice who will receive your complaint, and confidentially advise the IAATI President of their recommendations about how the complaint should be dealt with. The Public Interest Practice are highly regarded independent experts who offers professional services worldwide to s the public and private sector and who strive to create a more equitable and just society, based on the respect for the rule of law, social justice and an adherence to human rights. They support NGOs and community based organisations, small and medium sized social enterprises, donors, and institutions of learning and research. The Public Interest Practice has also been engaged to work with IAATI’s Community and Culture Development committee to review all IAATI policies, procedures and practices to ensure IAATI provides an environment that is free from all forms of discrimination and harassment and recognises the benefits of diversity and inclusion.
For more information or to lodge a complaint please contact Public Interest Practice, Director, Jacob van Garderen at jacob@publicinterestpractice.co.za.
Jacob van Garderen, is a South African human rights lawyer with more than twenty years’ experience in social justice activism and strategic litigation. He served as National Director of Lawyers for Human Rights, a leading human rights organisation in South Africa focusing on strategic litigation, refugees and migrant rights, gender equality and environmental rights, since 2008. He is a member of the Johannesburg Bar and has written and lectured on human rights law and practice and serves on the boards of various South African and regional human organisations working in the fields of social justice, rule of law and migration. He has presented various policy submissions to parliament, provincial legislatures, and government departments on a wide range of human rights issues and made presentations to the UN and African treaty bodies on regional and human rights issues.
7. Supporting Members from Financially disadvantaged countries
Vehicle crime has no geographic boundaries as so IAATI welcome members from all around the world. However, IAATI recognised that where wages are significantly lower than in most western industrialised countries, the cost of IAATI membership can be a significant barrier to joining IAATI. In 2016 IAATI introduce a significantly reduced membership fee for members in selected countries to minimize the economic barriers or members in economically disadvantaged countries.
8. Virtual Attendance at AGMs
IAATI has modernised its Constitution and Standard Operating Procedures to ensure all members have equal rights. An example of this is our changes to allow any current members to participate and vote at an AGM using video conferencing tools. Previously members could only participate and vote at an AGM if they were present in-person. This means that members who previously for financial reasons, family or work commitments, distance, health issues, etc. were unable to participate, can now do so, thereby ensuring all members have equal rights no matter who they are or where they are based.
9. IAATI Code of Ethics
IAATI prides itself on the inclusion of different individuals irrespective of their race, ethnicity, national origin, gender, gender identity, disability, religion, or sexual orientation. What unites us powerfully is our passion for vehicle crime prevention, combatting, detection, investigation and prosecution. This unity enables us to effectively support the international effort against vehicle crimes.
IAATI does not tolerate disrespect of the rights of any individual. Your rights and responsibilities as an IAATI member are reinforced and supported by our Code of Ethics which all members are required to agree to and uphold.
