The National Agency on Corruption Prevention (NACP) hosted a forum "Unified Whistleblower Reporting Portal - a Digital Tool for Implementing the Whistleblower Institution in Ukraine”.
The portal, developed with the support of USAID's SACCI activity, was launched by the National Agency on September 6, 2023, and since then it has consistently proven to be an effective tool for preventing corruption (https://whistleblowers.nazk.gov.ua). However, this digital resource fulfills another important mission - it creates a culture of whistleblowing in Ukrainian society, which, in turn, should lead to a radical reduction in corruption and increased accountability of the public sector.
The forum was attended by heads of anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, civic activists, and international partners. They discussed the first results of the Portal's work and shared their expectations for its further functioning.
"The NACP actively uses the tools provided for by law to prevent corruption and consistently implements the values of integrity. One of these tools is the institution of whistleblowing. I cannot imagine an integrity person who witnessed corruption and turned a blind eye. Whistleblowing is a conscious manifestation of responsible behavior by a citizen who does not want to tolerate corruption as one of the worst forms of injustice. Thanks to the launch of the Portal, people began to take an interest in the institution of whistleblowing, its development in Ukraine, and realize its importance. The development of the whistleblowing institution is another step towards the public understanding that the most effective way to fight corruption is to change the rules and culture. The basis of this new culture should be integrity," said the Head of the NACP, Oleksandr Novikov.
The Forum participants are confident that Ukrainians will gradually accept the philosophy of the whistleblowing institution and that it will become an important tool for reducing corruption crimes in the future. The Unified Whistleblower Reporting Portal is a digital tool for implementing the whistleblower institution in Ukraine, which is easy to use and guarantees reliable protection of personal data.
"Today, not everyone is ready to become a public whistleblower, but if we use the Portal's functionality, in particular, the ability to report corruption anonymously, we will be able to learn about more corruption in the public sector. Society is gradually changing its attitude, as we can see from the statistics. For example, in 2021, only one case involving a whistleblower was sent to court. In 2022 there were 5. This year the number is 7. These are only public whistleblowers. Most people are not yet ready to publicly expose corruption and help us document crimes anonymously. In general, it is important for a person to overcome this barrier psychologically, and the Whistleblower Reporting Portal will help them do so. We also see the first decisions made by the court to pay material rewards to whistleblowers. This will also encourage people. It should also be explained that, in addition to the reward, the whistleblower will receive certain legal guarantees against prosecution or dismissal. In the long run, we will see a great result," said Oleksandr Klymenko, the Deputy Prosecutor General and the Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
Over the past month and a half, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) has made two decisions to pay rewards to whistleblowers (one for more than UAH 13 million and the other for almost UAH 1.7 million.
The NACP is currently working to ensure that whistleblowers are entitled to remuneration. In particular, the NACP has sent letters to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to allocate funds for such payments.
However, payments are only an incentive, and the Whistleblower Reporting Portal is primarily about building integrity in the public sphere.
"Since 2019, we have been conducting a survey among civil servants, and this year - among local government officials on their vision of organizational culture in the public service. Having processed almost 44 thousand questionnaires of civil servants, we have received the following data: 44% are ready to report corruption anonymously, in particular, on the Whistleblower Reporting Portal, 11% are not ready to do so, and almost 45% are still hesitant. So today we are working to encourage them to take action. It is difficult to create a culture of zero tolerance to corruption, but thanks to our cooperation with the NACP, the process is moving forward. The issue of integrity is extremely relevant today. Year after year, integrity is among the top 5 values of civil servants. 54% of them say that integrity, openness and transparency are the basis on which the public service should be built," said Nataliia Aliushyna, Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service.
The presentation of the first results of the new digital resource was held as part of the International Anti-Corruption Week. According to Mark Ellingstad, Director of the USAID Office of Democracy and Governance in Ukraine, the launch of the Portal is a great achievement of the NACP and an opportunity for the Ukrainian government to strengthen accountability and integrity in the public sector.
"The whistleblower reporting portal is the right tool at the right time. It optimizes reporting in all government agencies, which saves budget funds. The digital system ensures accessibility, usability and data security. Finally, the centralized nature of the Portal ensures an effective response. For all these reasons, USAID is proud to have supported the NACP in developing and implementing the Portal. The U.S. Government considers this project to be one of the major investments in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. We stand ready to continue to support the NACP, other anti-corruption institutions, and civil society in further improving the Portal's functioning and promoting whistleblowing as a civic duty to combat corruption in Ukraine. There is still a lot of work to be done," said Mark Ellingstad.
First of all, all government agencies must join the Portal, and for the platform to function successfully, it is necessary to raise awareness of citizens about the possibilities of whistleblowing. More information is available on the Portal.
The portal, developed with the support of USAID's SACCI activity, was launched by the National Agency on September 6, 2023, and since then it has consistently proven to be an effective tool for preventing corruption (https://whistleblowers.nazk.gov.ua). However, this digital resource fulfills another important mission - it creates a culture of whistleblowing in Ukrainian society, which, in turn, should lead to a radical reduction in corruption and increased accountability of the public sector.
The forum was attended by heads of anti-corruption and law enforcement agencies, civic activists, and international partners. They discussed the first results of the Portal's work and shared their expectations for its further functioning.
"The NACP actively uses the tools provided for by law to prevent corruption and consistently implements the values of integrity. One of these tools is the institution of whistleblowing. I cannot imagine an integrity person who witnessed corruption and turned a blind eye. Whistleblowing is a conscious manifestation of responsible behavior by a citizen who does not want to tolerate corruption as one of the worst forms of injustice. Thanks to the launch of the Portal, people began to take an interest in the institution of whistleblowing, its development in Ukraine, and realize its importance. The development of the whistleblowing institution is another step towards the public understanding that the most effective way to fight corruption is to change the rules and culture. The basis of this new culture should be integrity," said the Head of the NACP, Oleksandr Novikov.
The Forum participants are confident that Ukrainians will gradually accept the philosophy of the whistleblowing institution and that it will become an important tool for reducing corruption crimes in the future. The Unified Whistleblower Reporting Portal is a digital tool for implementing the whistleblower institution in Ukraine, which is easy to use and guarantees reliable protection of personal data.
"Today, not everyone is ready to become a public whistleblower, but if we use the Portal's functionality, in particular, the ability to report corruption anonymously, we will be able to learn about more corruption in the public sector. Society is gradually changing its attitude, as we can see from the statistics. For example, in 2021, only one case involving a whistleblower was sent to court. In 2022 there were 5. This year the number is 7. These are only public whistleblowers. Most people are not yet ready to publicly expose corruption and help us document crimes anonymously. In general, it is important for a person to overcome this barrier psychologically, and the Whistleblower Reporting Portal will help them do so. We also see the first decisions made by the court to pay material rewards to whistleblowers. This will also encourage people. It should also be explained that, in addition to the reward, the whistleblower will receive certain legal guarantees against prosecution or dismissal. In the long run, we will see a great result," said Oleksandr Klymenko, the Deputy Prosecutor General and the Head of the Specialized Anti-Corruption Prosecutor’s Office (SAPO).
Over the past month and a half, the High Anti-Corruption Court of Ukraine (HACC) has made two decisions to pay rewards to whistleblowers (one for more than UAH 13 million and the other for almost UAH 1.7 million.
The NACP is currently working to ensure that whistleblowers are entitled to remuneration. In particular, the NACP has sent letters to the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine to allocate funds for such payments.
However, payments are only an incentive, and the Whistleblower Reporting Portal is primarily about building integrity in the public sphere.
"Since 2019, we have been conducting a survey among civil servants, and this year - among local government officials on their vision of organizational culture in the public service. Having processed almost 44 thousand questionnaires of civil servants, we have received the following data: 44% are ready to report corruption anonymously, in particular, on the Whistleblower Reporting Portal, 11% are not ready to do so, and almost 45% are still hesitant. So today we are working to encourage them to take action. It is difficult to create a culture of zero tolerance to corruption, but thanks to our cooperation with the NACP, the process is moving forward. The issue of integrity is extremely relevant today. Year after year, integrity is among the top 5 values of civil servants. 54% of them say that integrity, openness and transparency are the basis on which the public service should be built," said Nataliia Aliushyna, Head of the National Agency of Ukraine on Civil Service.
The presentation of the first results of the new digital resource was held as part of the International Anti-Corruption Week. According to Mark Ellingstad, Director of the USAID Office of Democracy and Governance in Ukraine, the launch of the Portal is a great achievement of the NACP and an opportunity for the Ukrainian government to strengthen accountability and integrity in the public sector.
"The whistleblower reporting portal is the right tool at the right time. It optimizes reporting in all government agencies, which saves budget funds. The digital system ensures accessibility, usability and data security. Finally, the centralized nature of the Portal ensures an effective response. For all these reasons, USAID is proud to have supported the NACP in developing and implementing the Portal. The U.S. Government considers this project to be one of the major investments in the fight against corruption in Ukraine. We stand ready to continue to support the NACP, other anti-corruption institutions, and civil society in further improving the Portal's functioning and promoting whistleblowing as a civic duty to combat corruption in Ukraine. There is still a lot of work to be done," said Mark Ellingstad.
First of all, all government agencies must join the Portal, and for the platform to function successfully, it is necessary to raise awareness of citizens about the possibilities of whistleblowing. More information is available on the Portal.
