WASHINGTON, D.C. | June 21, 2022 — National Whistleblower Center (NWC) is proud to announce that whistleblower protections were included a as a core priority in a report on Environmental Crime and Corruption presented during the 13th Session of the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) Coalition Review Group. The session occurred from the 13-17 of June and is part of a larger process of identifying steps for ending Corruption worldwide.
The report, which focused on environmental crimes explains that “Money laundering and fiscal evasion practices go hand-in-hand with environmental crime, entailing serious long-term economic loss.” And calls for U.N. members to “Recognize the essential role played by whistleblowers and environmental human rights defenders relating to the protection of the environment by ensuring a safe, protective, and enabling environment for those who uncover and report on corruption and environmental crimes[.]”
The submission cited to National Whistleblower Center’s, 2021 Targeting Natural Resource Corruption reportWhistleblower Protection: An Essential Tool for Addressing Corruption that Threatens the World’s Forests, Fisheries and Wildlife explaining the critical value environmental whistleblowers bring to fighting transnational corruption which threatens sustainability worldwide.
UNCAC’s May 2022 submission, Tackling Corruption Linked to Environmental Crimes to Achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals, also cited to NWC’s 2020 Climate Risk Disclosure Report, which details how fossil fuel companies are misleading the public about their impact on the climate and further outlines how whistleblowers are critical to exposing these deceptive practices. And, earlier this year, NWC was cited in a landmark report by the UN Special Rapporteur on the situation of human rights defenders and the United Nations Human Rights Council calling for the prioritization of whistleblower protections as a human rights mechanism.
“NWC is extremely pleased with the UNCAC Coalition’s inclusion of whistleblowers in its recommendations, as wildlife whistleblowers are critical to combatting environmental-related crime.” Said Siri Nelson, Executive Director at NWC, continuing to say “NWC will have an in-depth discussion with Prof. Alfred Brownell, a renowned environmental defender, as part of our National Whistleblower Day celebration. These submissions are an encouraging sign that the time is ripe for our continued focus on wildlife and environmental whistleblowers.”
Plans for National Whistleblower Day continue to be in the works, and the best way to stay updated is to RSVP for the event. NWC is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization, and this work is made possible by our generous donors. Please donate to support our annual celebration.
NWC Executive Director Siri Nelson is available for comment. For more information, contact NWC at info@whistleblowers.org.
