'Whistle-blowers need protection’

August 17, 2013 1:56 PM

WILLEMSTAD--Corruption must be tackled forcefully. To do so, legal safeguards are required as soon as possible to regulate the position of so-called "whistle-blowers" [people who sound the alarm when something is going wrong – Ed.] within the societies of the Kingdom.

 
That's what Attorney General Dick Pair stated during the installation of new President of the Dutch Caribbean Joint Court of Justice Evert-Jan van der Poel along with the two members, Gerard Lewin and Marijn Hubben Evert.
 
To fight corruption, citizens are needed to report perceived irregularities. "But residents could be hesitant to do so in order not to be brought into discredit among public entities and choose to keep their mouth shut out of fear," said Piar.
 
According to him, such a culture of fear is very harmful to the legal process because no one dares to take on the role of whistle-blower. The investigation of punishable acts becomes difficult when witnesses, out of fear for reprisals, don't dare make a statement, causing a logical consequence of many illegal practices never being brought to light.
The Head of the Prosecution for Curaçao, St. Maarten and the BES islands (Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba) said it cannot be so that those who report irregularities at government agencies or companies become the victim. "There are more than enough examples that can confirm this," he said, so the whistle-blowers must be protected.
The goal needs to be that everyone can express themselves freely in a constitutional democratic state, without having to fear reprisals. This requires regulation that includes sufficient safeguards so the whistle-blower does not have to fear dismissal, but has a right to legal, financial and/or psychological assistance.
 
The extraordinary position in which whistle-blowers find themselves must be considered in a possible court case involving them. The financing of such an arrangement must get a legal basis, said Piar.
 
"Other countries such as the US, Canada, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom already went ahead of us in regulating the position of whistle-blowers, so we don't have to reinvent the wheel."
 
(The Daily Herald)
 
Read the entire speach of Dick Piar here

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