Southeast Europe is Pioneering a Global ‘Whistleblower Revolution’

Western Balkans is setting an example 

Interior view of Agora building of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, Bas-Rhin, France. Photo: Wikimedia commons/Adrian Grycuk

By far the greatest beneficiary of the whistleblower revolution is the Western Balkans. This region, where budding democracies are struggling to succeed in the wake of the Communist era, may seem an unlikely place for whistleblower rights to be advancing. It is actually because of this struggle that these rights are being strengthened more than in any other region in the world.

Every Western Balkan country now has in place a whistleblower protection law that meets most European and international standards. All of these laws have been passed since 2013, thanks to the hard work of activists, journalists and elected officials, and with support from the EU, the Council of Europe and the UN. This wave of new laws began in Bosnia and Herzegovina in December 2013 - six months after Snowden went public with details of mass surveillance by US spy agencies.

With these laws now in place, every country in the region has set up an official system to receive, investigate and act on whistleblower reports and retaliation complaints. Most of these systems are overseen by anti-corruption agencies and ombudsman offices, which already have experience investigating crimes and protecting civil rights. Most of the agencies have whistleblower hotlines, specially trained staff and designated budgets.

We are pleased to report that in Albania, Bosnia, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Serbia, these systems are starting to function rather well. In all of these countries, employees who reported crime or corruption have been protected from retaliation, in one...