Podgorica, (MINA) – Montenegro still does not have a special law on the protection of whistleblowers, while the practice of state institutions shows that the focus is often on identifying those who report wrongdoings, instead of sanctioning corruption and other abuses, the Network for the Affirmation of the NGO Sector (MANS) announced.

Marking the International Whistleblower Protection Day, MANS warned that Montenegro still does not have a special law that would comprehensively regulate the protection of those who report corruption and other illegalities.

“Although the draft of the new Law on the Protection of Whistleblowers was prepared and presented to the public last year, its adoption is still awaited”, stated MANS.

They said that after the political changes in 2020, it was reasonable to expect an increase in reports of corruption and other illegalities by citizens and public officials who witnessed various abuses over the years, but that practice has shown a different picture.

“Even today, Montenegro has failed to create an environment that encourages the reporting of corruption and gives enough confidence to those who are thinking about speaking out about illegalities”, assessed MANS.

MANS said that an additional problem is the attitude of the state institutions towards the whistleblower institute.

“Instead of focusing on allegations of corruption, abuses and other illegalities that whistleblowers reveal, numerous examples show that institutions are often more concerned with the identity of those who disclosed the information to the public and who assisted them in this”, stated MANS.