The Ministry of Justice recommends the government to approve the extra-budgetary estimate, which amounts to 25 million drams, for whistle-blowers’ protection. We were informed about this from the agenda of the government session.
The draft decision also reported that on July 31, the RA Ministry of Justice and the Government of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland have signed the “Assistance to the Government of Armenia in the implementation of anti-corruption strategy to extend the legislative and regulatory framework to support the effective protection system of whistle-blowers” memorandum of understanding on the implementation of the grant program. The program is implemented by the “Office for Implementation of Judicial and Legal Programs” of Ministry of Justice of the Republic of Armenia.
It should be reminded that last year RA Prime Minister Karen Karapetyan said in one of the government sessions that a system of the whistleblowers should be developed in the executive system, and gave instructions on this. The Prime Minister said, for example, there is an institute of whistle-blowers operating abroad, who inform about the shortcomings in state bodies’ work. The introduction of the system of whistle-blowers is one of the provisions of Karapetyan’s government program.
According to the draft decision of the government, “The goal of the whistle-blowers’ protection program is to assist the government in the implementation of the anti-corruption strategy for the protection of the whistle-blowers, providing an opportunity for the whistle-blowers to report about corrupted risks in a protected mode, and to promote public awareness activities in the fight against corruption, including the whistle-blowers’ protection system”.
Nelly BABAYAN
