Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection Contents Part 1. Whistleblower protection policies and practices Chapter 1. Overview of global standards for whistleblower protection Committing to Effective Chapter 2. Public sector whistleblower protection laws in OECD countries Chapter 3. Public sector whistleblower protection in practice: to disclose, or not to disclose Whistleblower Protection Chapter 4. Language, culture and raising awareness to encourage whistleblowing in the public sector Chapter 5. Whistleblower protection in the private sector Part 2. Country case studies on whistleblower protection in the public sector Chapter 6. Belgium (Flanders) Chapter 7. Canada Chapter 8. Chile Chapter 9. Ireland Chapter 10. Switzerland Chapter 11. United States of America Annex A. Whistleblower protection provisions in the 41 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection Committing to Effective Consult this publication on line at http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264252639-en. This work is published on the OECD iLibrary, which gathers all OECD books, periodicals and statistical databases. Visit www.oecd-ilibrary.org for more information. ISBN 978-92-64-2526-22 42 2016 06 1 Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection This work is published under the responsibility of the Secretary-General of the OECD. The opinions expressed and arguments employed herein do not necessarily reflect the official views of OECD member countries. This document and any map included herein are without prejudice to the status of or sovereignty over any territory, to the delimitation of international frontiers and boundaries and to the name of any territory, city or area. Please cite this publication as: OECD (2016), Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection, OECD Publishing, Paris. http://dx.doi.org/10.1787/9789264252639-en ISBN 978-92-64-25262-2 (print) ISBN 978-92-64-25263-9 (PDF) The statistical data for Israel are supplied by and under the responsibility of the relevant Israeli authorities. The use of such data by the OECD is without prejudice to the status of the Golan Heights, East Jerusalem and Israeli settlements in the West Bank under the terms of international law. 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FOREWORD – 3 Foreword Whistleblower protection is integral to fostering transparency, promoting integrity, and detecting misconduct. Past cases demonstrate that corruption, fraud, and wrongdoing, as well as health and safety violations, are much more likely to occur in organisations that are closed and secretive. In many cases, employees will be aware of the wrongdoing, but feel unable to say anything for fear of reprisals, concern about acting against the organisation’s culture, or lack of confidence that the matter will be taken seriously. The negative implications of this are far-reaching for both organisations and society as a whole. Effective whistleblower protection supports employees in “blowing the whistle” on corruption, fraud or wrongdoing. The OECD has nearly two decades of experience in guiding countries to review whistleblower protection measures, increase awareness, and develop policies founded on international good practices. The OECD pioneered the first soft law instrument on public sector whistleblower protection, with the 1998 Recommendation on Improving Ethical Conduct in the Public Service. In 2009, the OECD Council adopted its Recommendation for Further Combating Bribery of Foreign Public Officials in International Business Transactions, requiring the 41 Parties to the Anti-Bribery Convention to put in place public and private sector whistleblower protection measures. This report is an in-depth analysis of the evolution of standards in whistleblower protection. It takes stock of the progress made over recent years, and shows that, while OECD countries are increasingly adopting whistleblower protection legislation, there remains a long way to go before whistleblowers are effectively protected. The report provides a detailed analysis of whistleblower protection frameworks in OECD and Working Group on Bribery countries and identifies areas for reform. It also proposes next steps to strengthen effective and comprehensive whistleblower protection laws, and ensure protection in both the public and private sectors. Finally, the report includes case studies that provide a snapshot of current whistleblower protection frameworks in various country contexts. The insights from this report's evidence-based analysis of whistleblower protection frameworks around the globe can serve as a catalyst for change and reform to ensure protection for those who report wrongdoing. Ultimately, effective whistleblower protection systems safeguard better policies, for better lives. Mari Kiviniemi OECD Deputy Secretary-General COMMITTING TO EFFECTIVE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION © OECD 2016 4 – ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Acknowledgements This report was prepared by the Public Sector Integrity Division of the Directorate for Public Governance and Territorial Development and the Anti-Corruption Division of the Directorate for Financial and Enterprise Affairs. Under the guidance of Janos Bertók, the co-ordination and drafting of this report was led by Jovana Blagotic with contributions and sections drafted by Leah Ambler and Liz Owen. Invaluable input and guidance were provided by Julio Bacio Terracino, Jeroen Michels, and Frédéric Boehm. The preliminary draft report was prepared by Ulrika Bonnier. Data cleaning and follow-up were carried out by Minjoo Son and overseen by Emma Cantera. Editorial and administrative assistance was provided by Thibaut Gigou, Elizabeth Zachary, Anaísa Gonçalves and Anastasia Slojneva. Special thanks go to the experts who drafted the country chapters, namely: Kristien Verbraeken, Integrity officer, Public Governance Department Corporate HR & Organizational Development Division, Flanders government; The Office of the Chief Human Resources Officer, Treasury Board of Canada Secretariat and The Office of the Public Sector Integrity Commissioner of Canada; Rodrigo Mora Ortega, President, Citizen Defense and Transparency Commission, General Secretariat of the Presidency and Francisco Sebastián Sánchez Lay, Lawyer, Citizen Defense and Transparency Commission, General Secretariat of the Presidency; Noel Tallon, Assistant Principal Officer, Government Reform Unit, Department of Public Expenditure and Reform; Anne Rivera, Head, Compliance Office and Competence Centre for Contracts and Procurement, General Secretariat, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland and Hélène Darwish Legal expert, Compliance Office, General Secretariat, Federal Department of Foreign Affairs, Switzerland; Mark P. Cohen, Principal Deputy Special Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel and John J. Lapin, Senior Assistant to the Special Counsel, U.S. Office of Special Counsel. The OECD also acknowledges with profound gratitude those who have contributed their expertise and experience at various stages of the development of this report. Particular appreciation goes to all the speakers and participants who actively engaged in the debates and exchanged views during the OECD Seminar on Re-visiting Whistleblower Protection on 17 June 2014 in Paris. The Public Governance Committee, the Working Party of Senior Public Integrity Officials and the Working Group on Bribery reviewed the report in the autumn of 2015 and early 2016, respectively. COMMITTING TO EFFECTIVE WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION © OECD 2016 TABLE OF CONTENTS – 5 Table of contents Acronyms and abbreviations ............................................................................................................. 9 Executive summary ........................................................................................................................... 11 Part I Whistleblower protection policies and practices Chapter 1. Overview of global standards for whistleblower protection .................................... 17 Mainstreaming integrity and open organisational cultures through detection and protection ......... 18 International and domestic sources of protection ............................................................................ 20 Most OECD countries have legal protection for whistleblowers .................................................... 21 Protection on an ad hoc basis: the way of the majority ................................................................... 26 Notes ............................................................................................................................................... 30 References ......................................................................................................................................