Whistleblowing has been increasingly accredited as a substantial mechanism for preventing and detecting corruption and other malpractices. By disclosing acts of wrongdoing, whistleblowers can avert harm, protect human rights, preserve life, and uphold the rule of law. Nevertheless, whistleblowers often come upon various obstacles, including retaliation, dismissal from employment, harassment, and in certain cases, physical attacks, as a consequence of their disclosures.
Therefore, whistleblower protection is essential to encourage the reporting of information on a threat or harm to the public interest. Additionally, whistleblower protection promotes a culture of accountability and integrity in public institutions as well as private sectors. As a consequence, several countries have adopted whistleblowing legislation and the means for their protection.
Nonetheless, as stressed by the OECD[1], an effective whistleblower protection system depends not only on effective legal protection and clear guidance on reporting procedure but also on clear and effective communication, informing both employers and employees about their rights, responsibilities, and resources available to them to create an environment of trust that supports integrity in the workplace and society as a whole.
Moreover, whistleblowing encouragement must be associated with effective legal protection from retaliation, clear guidance on reporting procedures, and positive reinforcement from the organizational hierarchy. This document addresses the above-mentioned issues by proposing an instrument, that will support all actors engaged in promoting an accountability culture and increasing awareness.
The instrument is composed of four parts. Part one emphasizes the fact that creating an effective anti-retaliation instrument in the Western Balkans requires a multifaceted approach that addresses not only legal and regulatory issues but also cultural and societal factors. Factors such as power dynamics in the workplace and institutional/organizational culture, trust in institutions, and cultural connotations that play a crucial role in shaping the whistleblowing culture are analysed.
The second part emphasizes the importance of whistleblowers’ protection. The section explores the definition of whistleblowing regarding international and domestic laws of the Western Balkan countries, explains the mechanism of protection against retaliation, and highlights the channels for reporting and disclosure.
The third part underlines that whistleblower protection legislation should be supported by effective awareness-rising, training, and evaluation efforts. The section explores evaluation mechanisms to identify data, benchmarks, and indicators relative to whistleblower protection systems to evaluate the effectiveness and monitor performance.
Part four provides the steps that should be taken into consideration while developing an anti-retaliation instrument for public institutions and/or organizations. Lastly, Annex 2 contributes to a model policy for a public or private institution in Albania.
[1] OECD, 2016, Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection, Paris: OECD Publishing, p. 12
