Whistleblowers are an effective tool in many countries in the fight against corruption and must therefore be protected by the state institutions. This is one of the conclusions of the press club on the topic of "The law on whistleblowers should become an effective mechanism against corruption", attended by representatives of the National Anticorruption Center, the Office of the People's Advocate and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Ion Pruteanu, the head of the Anticorruption Education Directorate of the CNA, said that the institution carried out 55 trainings, attended by over 2500 public and private sector employees, in order to promote the issue of whistleblowers. "The whistle blowers cannot be compared to undercover agents or "snitches", as an archaic perception may suggest. The whistleblower is an employee who informs the institution or the head of the institution about certain irregularities that occur within the organization and that affect the rights and freedoms of those working for the enterprise”, said Ion Pruteanu.
The CNA representative explained that when the employee does not trust the manager of the institution he works for, he can notify the specialized institutions that combat corruption or can make public warnings via online communication channels.
Olga Vacarciuc, the secretary general of the People's Advocate's Office, said that the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe urged the Member States to adopt and apply laws on whistleblowers.
Ada Șimon, chief of the Department of complaints' management and investigation of the People's Advocate's Office, said that whistle blowers can seek protection from the ombudsman if they are subject to revenge. "To date, there were no requests where we could identify the whistle blower. There was as single anonymous request that lacked the necessary data that would allow us to intervene", said Ada Șimon.
Lilia Ioniță, an anticorruption expert at the Center for Analysis and Prevention of Corruption, said that the main measure of protection of whistleblowers is the preservation of anonymity and confidentiality in regard to other employees or other external sources. “The law has many loopholes, delays and gaps. In order to be implemented by public and private institutions, a government decision needs to establish clear communication channels that allow to blow the whistle on illegal activities”, said Lilia Ioniță.
The Law on whistleblowers entered into force on November 2018.
