UNDP and DJAG organized a consultation on Whistleblower Act 2020

On 30 April, UNDP and the Department of Justice and Attorney General (DJAG) organized the ‘Consultation on the Whistleblower Act 2020’. The consultation was held in Port Moresby as part of the European Union-funded ‘Preventing and Counterin Corruption in Papua New Guinea’ Project (PNG Anti-Corruption Project), implemented by UNDP and UNODC.

May 8, 2024

Over 30 representatives from key Government institutions attended the training.

Seru Kepa | UNDP Papua New Guinea

The purpose of the consultation was to discuss and gather input from officials from key Government institutions and identify strengths, weaknesses, and possibilities for further improving of the Whistleblower Act 2020 to enable its effective implementation.

“UNDP PNG is supporting the Government in implementing the whistleblower protection legislative provisions and has prepared a comprehensive analysis of the Whistleblower Act 2020 with recommendations. The key objective of last week's consultation was to discuss the way forward, including the potential amendments of the Whistleblower Act 2020, to enable its effective implementation,” explains Dr. Alma Sedlar, UNDP PNG Chief Technical Adviser (Anti-Corruption).

UNDP PNG Chief Technical Adviser on Anti-Corruption, Dr. Alma Sedlar, addressing the participants.

Seru Kepa | UNDP Papua New Guinea

Participants had the opportunity to discuss opportunities and challenges related to implementing the current whistleblower protection legislative framework and the potential next steps, including the possibility of amending the Whistleblower Act 2020.

“An amendment to the Whistleblowers Act 2020 is critical at this stage. This needs to be done before the adoption of its regulation because the current legislative framework does not provide an extensive scope of protection to whistleblowers. Some practices related to the whistleblower protection included in the current Whistleblower Act 2020 have changed, and the Whistleblower Act 2020 would therefore have to be amended to be in line with the recent global standards and lessons learned,” said Mrs. Josephine Advent Pitmur, Deputy Secretary at Department for Justice and Attorney General.

Deputy Secretary at Department for Justice and Attorney General, Mrs. Josephine Advent Pitmur, during her remarks.

Seru Kepa | UNDP Papua New Guinea

Consultations last week were the fourth consultations related to the Whistleblower Act 2020, which UNDP and DJAG have organized through the EU-funded PNG Anti-Corruption Project. In addition, UNDP has facilitated various training on whistleblower protection for representatives of the public and private sector through the project in the last two years.

Over 30 representatives from DJAG, Department of Prime Minister & National Executive Council, Public Solicitor Office, Independent Commission Against Corruption, Office of Legislative Counsel, Public Prosecutor Office, The Papua New Guinea Constitutional and Law Reform Commission, Ombudsman Commission, FASU, participated in the consultation.

Participants had the opportunity to discuss opportunities and challenges related to implementing the current whistleblower protection legislative framework in Papua New Guinea.

Seru Kepa | UNDP Papua New Guinea

Whistleblowing is essential not only for detecting fraud, corruption, and related forms of wrongdoing but also for safeguarding the public interest and prompting a culture of accountability and integrity in the public and private sectors.

The training was organized by UNDP through the EU-funded PNG Anti-Corruption Project, implemented by UNDP and UNODC.