UN rights expert: UN not protecting whistleblowers enough

GENEVA – An independent U.N. human rights expert says the United Nations has "room for improvement" in protecting whistleblowers.

Special rapporteur on freedom of expression David Kaye also faults the U.N. and other international organizations for not adopting "robust" policies on access to information, saying they can too easily deny requests for information.

Kaye urges international organizations, states and civil society to support freedom of information, "particularly in an era of misinformation and propaganda."

He says that "too much doubt and distrust, for good reason, have infected governments worldwide."

The U.N.'s Human Rights Council created Kaye's post. His comments in a statement Tuesday came as he was to issue a report to the U.N. General Assembly. The statement said he was pleased by "early steps" at the U.N. to improve whistleblower protections.