The first internationally focused organization to support and counsel whistleblowers has been announced on December 9, according to a press release. The Center for Whistleblower Rights & Rewards (CWRR) has been announced today in honor of the UN’s International Anti-Corruption Day. Launched by Whistleblowing International, the CWRR will provide “complete services for citizens and employees worldwide who have information about crime, corruption, environmental violations and other misconduct.”
According to the press release, the CWRR’s priorities will be to preserve the careers and general well-being of international whistleblowers and to provide legal aid and representation. The press release states that CWRR will also investigate corruption and provide assistance in holding “guilty parties accountable.” The press release highlights international laws and programs that enable whistleblowers around the world to report fraud and receive protection and rewards for their disclosures. Powerful laws like the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) enfranchise people all over the world to report bribes that they may have knowledge of, and to receive rewards and protections. However, these laws are not well known around the world and require more international exposure for them to fully live up to their potential.
The CWRR claims that it will investigate multiple aspects of international crime that whistleblowers are often in a position to expose, including:
- Company misconduct
- Bribery of public officials
- Government contracting fraud
- Wildlife poaching/trafficking
- Illegal logging and fishing
- Bank and financial corruption
- Falsified carbon emissions
- Ocean pollution and dumping
- Money laundering
- Tax evasion and fraud
- Securities/commodities fraud
- Harm to endangered species
The founder of Whistleblowing International, Mark Worth, will lead the new organization. Worth has founded and run a number of whistleblower advocacy campaigns and NGO’s in the European Union and is a member of the UN Expert Group on Whistleblowing. CWRR has also teamed up with leading whistleblower law firm Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto, and the National Whistleblower Center, a leading NGO in the U.S.
Read the CWRR’s press release here. Needs link here for when press release is public.
Learn more about the UN’s International Anti-Corruption Day here.