A Webinar on “Collective action and AC reform - pursuing protection of Whistleblowers” was hosted within the framework of Joint EU/CoE Project against Economic Crime (PECK III) on 11 December 2020. The webinar was part of activities held to mark International Anti-Corruption Day.

The main objective of the event was to raise awareness on the importance of collective action for anti-corruption reforms and particular needs to pursue stronger protections for whistleblowers.

The webinar hosted participants from across Kosovo, including representatives of civil society, the public and private sector, as well as the donor community. Lively discussions captured the experiences of civil society groups actively involved in advocating for strengthened protection of whistleblowers, including the Kosovo Democratic Institute, Kosovo Law Institute and Movement FOL. They presented their experience with the implementation of whistleblower legislation, and their stories provided the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency and Ministry of Justice with important details on both the obstacles encountered as well as their successes.

Moreover, webinar participants benefited from an interesting discussion on the importance of whistleblowing in combating corruption and shared their knowledge of good practices with using collective action in ensuring increased protection. The webinar also included several Council of Europe experts who presented on international good practices and concrete case studies from neighbouring countries in South East Europe.

The Webinar followed up on over four years of support provided by the PECK Project to the development and adoption of whistleblower legislation in Kosovo. Crucially, PECK III will continue to further assist Kosovo with the establishment of a functioning whistleblower mechanism with legal and technical support over the coming years.