As recently discussed, the National Whistleblower Center (NWC) has detailed how, in the face of funding crises and shrinking civic space at the United Nations Convention against Corruption (UNCAC), global civil society faces exclusion and unprecedented headwinds. To directly implore world leaders and NGOs to establish effective anti-corruption policies, NWC has circulated a proposal and submitted a statement to the Eleventh Session of the Conference of the States Parties (CoSP 11), which will be held on Dec. 15-19 in Doha, Qatar.

While attending CoSP 11, delegates from around the world will have the chance to zero in on whistleblower practices and protections on Dec. 18, during “Uncovering Corruption Day: From Exposure to Accountability,” a day-long event of side sessions. At 11.40 local time, NWC will host a timely, hour-long session: “Advancing Effective Mobilization and Protection of Whistleblowers for Accountability.”

Organized alongside Whistleblowers of America (WoA) and featuring the perspectives of anti-corruption experts and an ACE Award-winning investigative journalist, the panel will highlight the tools needed to protect whistleblowers and how to deal with the positive and negative consequences of coming forward. In this Sunday Read, we preview the session and explore why it’s a standout in an already impressive agenda.

A Brief Overview of the Day

Uncovering Corruption Day is supported by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and CoSP. The day will bring together the key actors who expose and combat corruption, creating a rare space to strengthen the tools that keep them safe.

The topics will range from advancing protective frameworks, to first-person stories from award-winning journalists who have covered whistleblowing, to the benefits of financial rewards and enhancing citizen engagement.

At midday, the agenda will focus to the people at the center of the anti-corruption ecosystem. Whether it is a discrepancy in financial records or an irregularity in procurement, whistleblowers routinely provide the earliest and most reliable warnings. Without them, much of the world’s most consequential wrongdoing would never surface. However, whistleblowers often endure financial losses, job termination, reputational attacks, and psychological trauma.

These sessions will provide strategies to identify and prevent restrictions on anti-corruption measures and highlight ways to protect civic space.

NWC Leads The Discussion on Accountability

NWC and WoA will lead a one-hour discussion at 11.40 local time in a panel that will highlight the necessary tools needed to protect and mobilize whistleblowers. NWC Program Manager Jeana Lee will moderate the session, where panelists will share insights on how to use transnational anti-corruption laws to prosecute crimes. Additionally, the panel will discuss how to evaluate damages caused by trauma associated with whistleblowing.

Meet the Panelists

Stephen M. Kohn, NWC

Stephen M. Kohn’s name is synonymous with whistleblower litigation worldwide. The founding partner of Kohn, Kohn & Colapinto (KKC) and NWC Co-Founder and Chairman, Kohn is revered as one of the world’s foremost whistleblower attorneys, having secured the first $100 million whistleblower award, in Murray v. UBS Securities, which was upheld by the United States Supreme Court in 2024.

He won landmark cases under the False Claims Act, Dodd-Frank, Anti Money Laundering (AML), Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA), Commodity Exchange, and tax whistleblower laws, and currently represents, Howard Wilkinson, the Danske Bank whistleblower who reported (and stopped) the largest known money-laundering scandal ($230 billion).

Kohn organizes and co-leads the NWC’s annual National Whistleblower Day ceremony on Capitol Hill, with the goal of securing federal recognition of the significance of July 30, and is also the author of Rules For Whistleblowers: A Handbook For Doing What’s Right.

Kate Reeves, NWC

Kate Reeves, International Liaison for the NWC, builds global partnerships with anti-corruption and human rights groups while advancing best-practice whistleblower policies abroad. At KKC, she assists on transnational corruption cases. She researches human rights law and environmental justice, and is pursuing a joint JD/PhD at UC Berkeley.

Khadija Sharife, International Anti-Corruption Excellence (ACE) Award-Winner

Khadija Sharife is an investigative journalist and legal expert whose work exposes financial corruption across Africa and beyond. A co-founder and former director of the Platform to Protect Whistleblowers in Africa, she previously worked with the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP) and serves on multiple investigative journalism boards. She is an ACE Award-winner and her recent OCCRP investigation was a 2025 Pulitzer finalist.

Dr. Jacqueline Garrick, WoA

Dr. Jacqueline Garrick is the Founder and President of Whistleblowers of America. She is a former captain in the U.S. Army, and established a career in public service and the Department of Defense (DoD) before becoming a whistleblower. A longtime NWC ally, Dr. Garrick is a leading expert on whistleblower retaliation, mental health, and veteran advocacy.

She created the Whistleblower Retaliation Checklist©, provides forensic testimony, and leads the Workplace Promise Institute. Garrick is an accomplished author of WoA’s Peer Support Mentor Training Manual and The Psychosocial Impacts of Whistleblower Retaliation: Shattering Employee Resilience and the Workplace Promise.

“I am excited about presenting because the research we are conducting at Whistleblowers of America on retaliation as trauma and its mental health implications can be transformative for accountability,” Garrick said. “Recognizing that these are serious psychological injuries is a step toward providing disability benefits and pain and suffering compensation for the emotional distress caused by a hostile work environment.”

A Call for Global Accountability

UNCAC’s International Anti-Corruption Day was celebrated on Dec. 9, 2025, helping set the tone for CoSP 11. Kohn said that hopefully the world will again commit to the norms and aspirations of UNCAC and noted that “Uncovering Corruption Day” reminds us that those commitments depend not only on treaties and resolutions, but on the courage of individuals who risk everything to expose wrongdoing.

“By bringing together the people who uncover corruption, investigate it, defend against retaliation, and fight for enforcement, the National Whistleblower Center underscores a simple truth,” said Kohn, who also serves as Chief Supervising Attorney to the International Whistleblower Advocates organization. “And that is, whistleblowers are indispensable to the global fight for transparency. They deserve a system that protects them with equal resolve.”

Subscribe to the Sunday Read series for UNCAC and CoSP11 coverage.

For Whistleblowers Seeking Representation

The decision to come forward is not one to be taken lightly, nor should the decision to select a whistleblower lawyer. NWC provides resources that can connect you with the right legal professional before taking any action.

Support NWC

NWC works tirelessly to strengthen whistleblower programs and educate the public about their value. As a 501(c)(3) nonprofit, our work relies on donors like you.

💙 Donate today to help us continue advocating for whistleblowers.

🎁 Special Offers: Donors of $50 or more will receive a free copy of Stephen M. Kohn’s latest book, Rules For Whistleblowers: A Handbook For Doing What’s Right.

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This article was written by Justin Smulison, a professional writer, podcaster, and event host based in New York.