Project Update
OSCE Continues to Strengthen Whistleblower Protection with Intermediate Training Course for Moldova and Ukraine
- Issued on:
- Issued by:
- Conflict Prevention Centre, OSCE Secretariat
- Fields of work:
- Reform and co-operation in the security sector
On 5 and 6 October, in Chisinau, the OSCE Conflict Prevention Centre (CPC), the Office of the Co-ordinator of OSCE Economic and Environmental Activities (OCEEA) and the OSCE Support Programme for Ukraine (SPU) organized an intermediate training course on Whistleblower Protection in the Security Sector. The event brought together 23 participants from the security and justice sectors of Moldova and Ukraine.
The regional initiative provided practitioners with a platform to exchange experiences, discuss shared implementation challenges and identify practical solutions for strengthening integrity, oversight and transparency in the security and justice sectors through effective whistleblower protection. Discussions focused on internal and external reporting channels, institutional mandates and co-ordination, safeguards against retaliation, and the handling of disclosures. Participants also worked towards developing an inter-agency map of whistleblower reporting pathways to help clarify reporting and referral mechanisms.
“We have seen an almost 30 per cent increase in the number of whistleblower cases in the year following the adoption of the regulations. This illustrates the importance of a strong policy framework and gives us a sense of the change that is taking place in practice,” said Stela Rusu, Deputy Head of the Directorate for International Cooperation and European Integration of the National Anticorruption Center of Moldova.
“The training was particularly relevant as it provided an opportunity to exchange practical experiences and lessons learned with regional partners in addressing whistleblower protection challenges in the security and justice sectors, including confidentiality, preventing retaliation and handling sensitive or classified information,” shared Anastasiia Renkas, Head of the Whistleblower Institution Development Unit of the National Agency on Corruption Prevention of Ukraine.
The course contributed to the implementation of the OSCE-wide Anti-Corruption Programming Strategy and the OSCE’s efforts to strengthen good governance, integrity and accountability in the security sector. It was delivered within the framework of the CPC’s extra-budgetary project “Support, Capacity-Building and Awareness-Raising for Security Sector Governance and Reform within the OSCE: Phase III”, OCEEA’s extrabudgetary project “Supporting Anti-Corruption Efforts of the Government of Moldova” and SPU’s project “Supporting the Development of Effective Tools for the Prevention of Corruption and Enhancing Anti-Corruption Compliance in Ukraine”.