Following public complaints of moral and sexual harassment that allegedly occurred at the Centre for Social Studies, the Board of Directors and the Presidency of the Scientific Board decided to set up an Independent Commission to clarify possible situations of harassment, be them those mentioned in the public complaints or others that may arise, as well as to identify possible institutional failures. The Commission includes Catarina Reis Neves, Cristina Ayoub Riche, Eduarda Proença de Carvalho, Jorge A. Ribeiro Pereira e Michaela Antonín Malaníková, who gather skills in psychology, human rights, law, and as ombudsperson [^{_{+ info}}]

The Independent Commission begins its mandate in August 1st, 2023. It will analyse the situations and complaints already made public, received through CES’ institutional means, or that may be submitted, until September 30th, 2023, in the whistleblowing channel created for this purpose, through the external platform FaceUp | www.faceup.com/c/v5jx9k3e from August 1st onwards. The Commission can also be contacted in the framework of its mission via email at comissaoindependenteces@comindependente.pt. These will be the only means for receiving statements, information and documentation, will be accessed exclusively by the members of the Independent Commission, and have been set up on independent servers, outside of CES.

The IC will be governed by criteria of impartiality, autonomy and independence, and will assume as fundamental premises of its work the hearing of all parties with the absolute guarantee of secrecy and confidentiality. The members of the Commission shall maintain the duty to treat any information received with complete confidentiality, both during the period of its work and after its termination.

In the process of setting up the Committee, the collaboration of the Lisbon Regional Council of the Portuguese Bar Association should be noted and thanked.

CES reiterates its commitment to transparency, to the defence of the rights of all those who are part of its community, and to effect the institutional change needed to prevent all forms of harassment. CES stresses its rejection of any form of harassment or abuse and stands in solidarity with all victims of such violence.