A year ago, on September 6, 2023, the National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) launched the Unified Whistleblower Reporting Portal (referred to as the Portal).
Over the year of its operation, this digital service has demonstrated its effectiveness, providing real-time analytical data on the situation with corruption reports in the country, as well as ensuring the confidentiality and anonymity of whistleblowers. Compared to other reporting channels, the Portal has become the most effective mechanism for whistleblowers to receive timely protection of their rights. At the same time, its practical application has shown that the Portal needs to be improved. The NACP, in cooperation with the public and government sectors, is constantly taking steps to address the system's performance issues.
Thus, to optimize the processes of connecting organizations to the Portal, in April 2024, the Procedure for Maintaining the Portal No. 93/24 of 11.04.2024 was amended and the order of connection of organizations to the Portal was changed.
In addition, the public part of the Portal has been changed:
- the main page has been updated with relevant information blocks and links to useful sources that may be useful to all users of the Portal;
- incorrect display of certain statistical information in the “Analytics” section was corrected;
- a convenient search filter for organizations connected to the Portal in the “Analytics” section was introduced;
- developed a convenient functional transition to the analytical block of the organization in the section “Organizations connected to the Portal”;
- the block of informational tips and notes for applicants and whistleblowers was finalized to help them when submitting reports;
- corrected several technical errors that occurred when submitting reports.
NACP employees are also testing other additional features of the Portal. In particular, it is planned to change the design to meet the requirements for inclusiveness, a simplified procedure for submitting and accepting notifications by authorized users.
In total, the Portal received more than 3.8 thousand reports over the year, but the main purpose of its functioning is not to generate a massive number of reports but to create a culture of whistleblowing, which involves a gradual reduction of corruption at all levels.
In general, the institution of whistleblowing currently faces many challenges. Practical activities have shown that there are gaps and discrepancies in the legislation, as well as insufficient communication with society to develop conscious manifestations of responsible and virtuous behavior in the face of corruption.
Currently, there is a need to unify the concept of a “whistleblower”, in particular, by harmonizing the definition of this term in the Criminal Procedure Code of Ukraine (clause 16-2, part 1, article 3) with the corresponding provision of the Law of Ukraine “On Prevention of Corruption” (paragraph 20, part 1, article 1). This will introduce a unified approach to the registration and pre-trial investigation of criminal proceedings involving whistleblowers and, accordingly, provide them with protection both within and outside of criminal proceedings.
The procedure for obtaining confirmation of whistleblower status and the procedure for appealing against relevant decisions also need to be regulated.
Procedures for protecting whistleblowers and providing them with legal assistance also require high-quality regulation.
Another issue is ensuring the payment of compensation to whistleblowers. The absence of a proper legal procedure for such payment should not affect the possibility of exercising the whistleblower's right guaranteed by the Law. That is why NACP, together with the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine, the State Treasury Service, the Ministry of Finance, and the Ministry of Economy of Ukraine, is actively working on this issue.
In addition, the NACP, together with the USAID and FCDO project “Promoting Integrity in the Public Sector” (Pro-Integrity), has started working on two main vectors: proposing changes to legislation to ensure the proper functioning of the whistleblowing institution within the current concept and implementing a high-quality communication strategy with society to develop a whistleblowing culture.
The implementation of these tasks will create a solid foundation for further conceptual changes and expansion of the whistleblowing institution as provided for by EU Decree 2019/1937 of 23.10.2019.
Therefore, the NACP calls on all stakeholders to actively join the initiated processes. The National Agency has a strong position on protecting the rights and guarantees of whistleblowers and welcomes the initiative of employees of organizations that have chosen to fight corruption and not tolerate any of its forms.
