Palestinian government passes law protecting whistleblowers
For the first time, the Palestinian government passed a law on the protection of whistleblowers, witnesses and experts in corruption cases, as part of efforts to raise awareness against corruption.
RAMALLAH, West Bank — The Palestinian government passed a bill Oct. 7 to protect whistleblowers, witnesses and experts — including their relatives — in cases of corruption. The law thus entered into force without the need for President Mahmoud Abbas’ ratification.
The Palestinian Anti-Corruption Commission (PACC) started drafting the law in June and forwarded it to the Cabinet for approval. The PACC aims to push for a culture of reporting corruption and building a legal procedure to support the legislation.
The PACC was established in 2010 as per Law No. 7 as an independent, administrative and financial commission. Its head is appointed under a presidential decree issued by the president of the Palestinian Authority (PA).
The PACC's director of legal affairs, Racha Amarneh, told Al-Monitor the commission has the obligation to comply with the United Nations Convention against Corruption, which Palestine signed in May 2014.
