Action Needed to Protect Whistleblowers and Increase Transparency

A report on increasing confidence in the political system that was commissioned at the beginning of the year by Prime Minister Katrín Jakobsdóttir was released yesterday.

According to RÚV, the report showed the need for swift legislative action to protect whistleblowers in the private and public sectors, and make it easier and faster to get information from state institutions. The report was released at a press conference and will be formally presented to Parliament next week.

University of Iceland philosophy professor Jón Ólafsson led the working group that wrote the report. He noted that public trust in the state was lower than in the other Nordic nations. Jón believes this is in part due to the opaque and slow nature of the state. Outside observers have come to similar conclusions.

Iceland has been sliding lower on Transparency International’s Corruption Perception Index. Iceland is ranked below its Nordic friends, and is now ranked 13th in the world, a respectable position globally but the other Nordic countries dominate the top of the index. Iceland’s ranking has been falling for years. The report stated that Iceland has been slow adopt the recommendations of international anti-corruption organisation.