A new report by Mary Lawlor, the United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders, calls for increased whistleblower protections as a key human rights mechanism. The report recognizes whistleblowers as human rights defenders and recommends member states prioritize implementing stronger whistleblower protection laws.
The report, entitled “At the heart of the struggle: human rights defenders working against corruption,” was presented to the UN General Assembly at its 49th session. The report “analyses the situation of human rights defenders working against corruption and stresses that protection frameworks applicable to human rights defenders should apply to them.”
In October 2021, the U.S.-based National Whistleblower Center (NWC) submitted a comment in response to the Special Rapporteur Lawlor’s call for submissions for the report. NWC identified whistleblower protection as a key form of support the United States provides for human rights defenders and made several recommendations regarding strengthening whistleblower protection laws.
The final report cites NWC’s submission and highlights the important role whistleblowers play in fighting corruption. The report notes that “whistleblowers are often in severe danger when they expose corruption. Some risk their career, their livelihoods and sometimes their personal safety to expose wrongdoing that threatens the public interest” and that “states should do more to enact meaningful protections...
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