A U.S. whistleblower attorney is in Geneva, Switzerland to address the United Nations Human Rights Council, highlighting the essential role of whistleblowers in defending human rights and fighting corruption worldwide and stressing the importance of stronger legal frameworks.
On September 11, Stephen M. Kohn, founding partner of the Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto and Chairman of the Board of National Whistleblower Center, was featured as a keynote speaker in the Institute for Human Rights event “Justice and Reparation for Whistleblowers” and on September 12, he will speak in the plenary session “Interactive Dialogue with the Special Rapporteur on Truth, Justice and Reparation.”
During the Justice and Reparation for Whistleblowers event, Kohn highlighted the key role of whistleblowers in exposing corruption and human rights violations noting “Without an insider, you can’t fight corruption and unless the penalties are high the anti-corruption laws are useless.”
However, he also stressed the need for further education across the globe about the transnational reach of U.S. whistleblower laws, stating “The key are human rights defenders who are on the front lines dealing with these whistleblowers, they must be educated to make sure whistleblowers are protected.”
During the plenary on September 12, Kohn will join the current Special Rapporteur on truth, justice and reparation Bernard Duhaime. Kohn will join Duhaime to discuss the indispensable role that whistleblowers play in exposing human rights violations and how answering the urgent call for stronger legal protections for whistleblowers can aid this mission. This plenary session will be livestreamed and is accessible to virtual viewers here. It will be held from 10:30 AM – 12:00 PM CEST.
Kohn is widely recognized as a leading expert on whistleblower law, having represented whistleblowers in high-profiles cases since 1984. He is also the most published author on whistleblower law. His latest book, Rules for Whistleblowers: A Handbook for Doing What’s Right has received rave reviews. For example, Kirkus praised Rules for Whistleblowers in a review, calling it “definitive and compulsively readable.”
