Transparency International
Joseph Veramu
CLCT Integrity Fiji
Today, 23
June is World Whistleblowers Day. It is an opportunity to celebrate the people
who have come forward to speak out against corruption and wrongdoing. And while
there is an increased global recognition of whistleblowers’ vital
role in our societies, in far too many places, urgent action to
protect them is still needed.
Across the
Pacific region, whistleblowers still desperately lack basic legal protections. Whistleblower
protection reform is needed at key Pacific intergovernmental organisations,
like the University of South Pacific, where Professor Pal Ahluwalia works.
Whistleblowing is one of the most effective ways to shine the light on
corruption. Courageous individuals’ disclosures have exposed corruption and
other wrongdoing, helping save public funds and avoid disasters for
health and the environment.
Public and private organisations also directly benefit from
whistleblowing mechanisms, as they are effective corruption risk management and
prevention tools, allowing them to be alerted to and address corruption issues,
thus preventing or mitigating damages for the organisation and, often, the
public interest.
However,
too often whistleblowers face retaliation in the form of harassment, dismissal
from jobs, blacklisting, threats and even physical violence, and their
disclosures are routinely ignored.
Individual
rights to freedom of expression includes the right to point out acts of
wrongdoing – both in government and in private companies. Whistleblowers must
be acknowledged and protected, not punished and ostracised.
Reform
efforts and pending gaps
Transparency
International has developed international principles for whistleblowing
legislation and a Best Practice Guide for
Whistleblowing Legislation, which many countries and international
organisations have used as a guide to develop their own legislation and
standards.
Regionally,
the Pacific Islands Law Officers’ Network (PILON) has also published guiding
principles for protecting whistleblowers and encouraging protected disclosure.
In the
Pacific region, Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea (PNG) are the only two countries which have passed
specific whistleblower protection laws. Transparency International’s chapters
in these countries have been key players advocating for whistleblower
protection. The Federated States of Micronesia, Nauru and Palau have all been
considering enacting such legislation too.
Despite
these positive steps, more must be done. PNG’s 2020 Whistleblower Protection Act
was developed with minimal consultations and has several limitations. According
to the 2021 PNG National Integrity System
Assessment, this legislation is wholly inadequate. It
places the burden on whistleblowers with no protection of their identities and with
the ultimate arbiter being the head of the agency. There is no private sector
protection, and the public sector provisions allow civil servants to blow the
whistle only on their own agency.
PNG’s 2020
organic law on the Independent Commission Against Corruption (ICAC) however has
strong whistleblowing provisions that consider the private sector as well.
However, these only pertain to the work of the commission once established.
In Solomon
Islands, the 2018 Whistleblower Protection Act includes heavy penalties for victimising and exposing
whistleblowers. However, such offences must be reported to key institutions,
such as the Solomon Islands ICAC, which is not fully
functional yet and currently experiences capacity and resource limitations. Implementation of relevant
legislation will require strengthening of key institutions
and mechanisms.
In Vanuatu,
the 2016 Right to Information act has provisions for whistleblower protection
but the similarly implementation of the Act needs to be supported and awareness
of it raised amongst the general public.
What needs
to be done
Pacific
governments and other key stakeholders should take decisive steps towards the creation
of a supportive environment where whistleblowers are empowered to speak up and
are adequately protected across the region.
Governments
need to prioritise whistleblower protection legislation across all Pacific
countries to protect whistleblowers nationally and at the regional level. Since
several Pacific countries are interested in enacting whistleblower protection
legislation, this is an opportune entry point for civil society to conduct law
reform advocacy, drawing on global good practice.
Acknowledging
the strong commitment by the leadership in PNG to amend
further the national Whistleblower protection Act, this process needs to take
place consultatively together with civil society and other key stakeholders to
ensure the legislation meets international standards.
Capacity
support and funding needs to be prioritised to strengthen key institutions and
mechanisms that will enable effective implementation of the whistleblower
protection legislation in Solomon Islands, as well as other legislation containing
relevant provisions in Vanuatu and other Pacific countries.
Development
partners and intergovernmental institutions such as PILON need to support
governments and the private sector adapt from international and regional
guidelines and best practices to strengthen whistleblower protection across the
region.
Companies,
too, have a key role to play in encouraging anonymous reporting and
whistleblower protection. Business networks can partner with government actors
and civil society to conduct whistleblower protection capacity support to the
private sector.
Finally, institutions
implementing whistleblower protection policies, as well as agencies that provide
legal advice, need to engage workers and clients to give them access to safe
channels of reporting corruption and receiving information on their rights and
obligations.
When properly
implemented, whistleblowing mechanisms – which should include safe reporting
channels and whistleblower protection policies, but also other elements such as
awareness raising and training – empower workers to report wrongdoing they
encounter. They allow organisations to become aware of internal corruption
issues and to act rapidly to address them, making them effective corruption
prevention and risk management tools.