France 24: The Landmark Case of J. Wasserstrom, ‘The UN Whistleblower’
This lengthy television report looks at the saga of U.N. whistleblower and GAP client James Wasserstrom. While assigned to a peacekeeping operation in Kosovo, Wasserstrom blew the whistle on what he alleged was a conspiracy to pay a $500 million kickback to senior U.N. and Kosovo officials. The U.N. Ethics Office failed to protect him from retaliation, prompting him to file a case with the institution’s lower court, the Dispute Tribunal. While the Tribunal found in his favor, it awarded him only a tiny fraction of his losses. One week from today, the United Nations Appeals Tribunal will hear oral arguments on Wasserstrom’s case in Vienna, Austria.
The hearing and its outcome will be closely watched as the newly-enacted U.S. Consolidated Appropriations Act requires the United Nations to provide whistleblowers with “results that eliminate the effects of proven retaliation” as a condition of a full U.S. contribution to the organization. GAP Executive & International Director Bea Edwards is interviewed in the second half of the report.
Key Quote: Edwards: The Government Accountability Project represents a number of whistleblowers from the U.N., and over the years we have really seen that problems – corruption, abuse of authority particularly, waste of resources – are pervasive throughout the Secretariat, peacekeeping forces, the funds and programs and specialized agencies.
Host: But there are internal protections at the U.N. Are you saying they don’t work at all?
Edwards: They are not very faithfully or consistent implemented. You just cited the statistics from the Ethics Office: Of 347 complaints of retaliation only two were vindicated. Also, the whistleblower, in order to receive some kind of compensation for the damage done to his or her career or personal life, has to endure a protracted ordeal in an administrative justice system that, as you just described in the case of Jim Wasserstrom, takes years to have some kind of decision. Even then, the compensation is not adequate, and the perpetrators are not sanctioned.
‘Silenced’ Comes To DC Next Week
The notable documentary Silenced, which focuses on the federal government’s shocking treatment of whistleblowers, will be shown in Washington, DC next week as part of the AFI Docs festival. The film details the reprisals suffered by NSA whistleblower Tom Drake, CIA/torture whistleblower John Kiriakou and GAP National Security & Human Rights Director Jesselyn Radack. Drake and Radack will participate in a Q&A session following the June 21 showing of the film.
New York Public Library: Modernizing Protections For Whistleblowers
This blog post is penned by Anthony Rosa, Acting Deputy Director for Whistleblower Protection Programs at the Occupational Safety & Health Administration (OSHA). Rosa explains how OSHA’s whistleblower protection statute urgently needs to be updated in two ways: deadlines for submitting complaints of retaliation must be increased from 30 days, and OSHA must help illegally terminated employees return to work more quickly
Code Pink: Father’s Day Fundraiser For CIA Whistleblower John Kiriakou’s Family
Code Pink and FireDogLake will host a fundraising event tomorrow night, June 13, to support the family of GAP client and CIA/torture whistleblower John Kiriakou. On top of the funds raised at the Washington event, a check for $30,000 will be presented to the family to help pay for their mortgage while John is in prison.
Dylan Blaylock is Communications Director for the Government Accountability Project, the nation’s leading whistleblower protection and advocacy organization.