Transparency International Bosnia and Herzegovina said, to the World Whistleblower, that only one person decided to request the fight against corruption (APIK) from the Agency for the Prevention of Corruption (APIK), but it was denied that request.
This is the strongest illustrated situation in the field of protection of persons reporting corruption, so-called “whistleblower” in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Exception of Sarajevo Canton
“The situation in the entities was even more unfavorable, in Republika Srpska during the last year, no request for the protection of corruption applicants have been filed while the steps of the impairment have already been made anyway.
Neither in the Federation of BiH is nothing better, although you would most of this entity gain where the biggest problem is the lack of law that protects potential whistleblows.
The exception is the Sarajevo Canton, which was 2023. Due to which six people received the status of a protected corruption applicant, of a total of eight received applications in the discriminatory position, “said in publication.
That urgent changes are necessary to speak and the fact that Transparency International BiH was within 2024. year received 21 applications from persons that can be classified in the order of whistleblowers. This indicates that citizens take a higher level of trust in NGOs when it comes to the fight against corruption ‘which is not supposed to surprise whether the greatest level of protection currently provide for civil society’.
Key stepping
Among the key steps, the new Law on the Protection of the Whistlequee of Irregularities at the Level of BiH is on the Ministry of Justice of BiH to which BiH be addressed with proposals for securing the full and efficient whistleblower protection.
“These proposals, among other things, predict the right of citizens to choose that the irregularities of the application within the institution or beyond that, including the possibility of addressing media without fear of retaliation.
Special attention should be paid to preventing whistleblow pressures and eliminating the possibility of reviewing “good faith”, which is why reports have often been deterred by searching for corruption, “said in a statement.
In addition to these provisions, the new law must clearly recognize the situations in which whistleblows suffer the harmful consequences despite the existence of a protected report and ensure efficient management of institutions in such situations.
“The low level of trust in the legal protection of witnesses and victims of corruption arises not only from lack of laws, but also the atmosphere of public convictions, intimidation and open threats to criticize the work of institutions and publicly indicate corruption,” said in a statement.
The effectiveness of the fight against corruption in Bosnia and Herzegovina also reduces the inadeic response to the courts in BiH, which increased the number of release judgments in corruption works cases, by 20 percent in 2024. years compared to the year earlier.
Lack of law
On the same time, the Prosecution reduced the number of open investigations, while the lowest number of indictments for corruption crimes was recorded in the last four years, despite the fact that BiH, the second most corrupt state in Europe, writes Report.
Although the “Whistleča” reports represent the most effective way to talk, prosecute, the lack of positive examples and sanctions for corruption, the lack of laws and their weak applications are additional signals to citizens not reporting.
“That’s why you would appeal to the BiH Ministry of Justice to ensure full compliance with international conventions and EU directives that guarantee secure and efficient whistleblower protection.
In addition, Transparency International in BiH expresses the fact that the Federation of BiH will recognize the issue as soon as possible with the law enforcement procedure to provide adequate protection to all citizens in the Federation of BiH, “says BiH.
