Southeast Europe is Pioneering a Global ‘Whistleblower Revolution’ – Balkan Insight

By far the greatest beneficiary of the whistleblower revolution is the Western Balkans. This region, where budding democracies are struggling to succeed in the wake of the Communist era, may seem an unlikely place for whistleblower rights to be advancing. It is actually because of this struggle that these rights are being strengthened more than in any other region in the world.

Every Western Balkan country now has in place a whistleblower protection law that meets most European and international standards. All of these laws have been passed since 2013, thanks to the hard work of activists, journalists and elected officials, and with support from the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN. This wave of new laws began in Bosnia and Herzegovina in December 2013 six months after Snowden went public with details of mass surveillance by US spy agencies.

With these laws now in place, every country in the region has set up an official system to receive, investigate and act on whistleblower reports and retaliation complaints. Most of these systems are overseen by anti-corruption agencies and ombudsman offices, which already have experience investigating crimes and protecting civil rights. Most of the agencies have whistleblower hotlines, specially trained staff and designated budgets.

We are pleased to report that in Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, these systems are starting to function rather well. In all of these countries, employees who reported crime or corruption have been protected from retaliation, in one fashion or another. Officials have developed a high level of expertise in whistleblower protection concepts and procedures, and are working on behalf of citizens.

These new laws and systems are not perfect. Some gaps and shortcomings are limiting the ability of officials to investigate cases and grant stronger protections. But the initial results are very positive. This is particularly true in light of the fact that with the exception of South Korea, the US and a very few other countries, well-functioning systems are largely absent.

Out of a justified concern for the whistleblowers, and to protect their identity and all of their identifying information, we are not at liberty to release any details of these recent cases. In the future we hope to report some details in order to highlight these important successes, while preserving confidentiality of the citizens.

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Southeast Europe is Pioneering a Global 'Whistleblower Revolution' - Balkan Insight