Ask anyone if they will expose a crime if they know their careers might be hurt, and they will most likely give an emphatic no. Yet this happens for many whistleblowers around the world, including at the United Nations.
At the UN, an organization made up of 193 member states, a secretariat led by the secretary-general and dozens of agencies and entities, whistleblowers have to battle an internal justice system that perpetuates a culture of silence. Staff members of the UN are scared of reporting corruption because of possible retaliation, said Mark Polane, president of the United Nations Field Staff Union.
“It is very clear from various surveys that the UN carries out that staff don’t have trust in the system,” Polane said in a panel discussion titled “The United Nations Is Failing Whistleblowers: What Needs to Change,” held at the 2022 International Anti-Corruption Conference, in Washington, Dec. 6-10. “Internally, a lot of things go unreported because the staff doesn’t feel confident that either something will be done or that they will be protected.”
The UN’s internal justice system has several impediments that make whistleblowing difficult. For instance, in the UN specialized agency that coordinates international air navigation and monitors global regulations, the Montreal-based International Civil Aviation Organization, whistleblowers who are employees can be represented only by a staffer or former staff member.
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