property – may have been committed can report this to the Controller and Auditor General, Minister or Financial Secretary or both and in n alleging such breach in good faith would be immune from civil suit and shall not be penalized in any way whether the allegation is proved or not... [emphasis added].146 Despite such protection, this is limited to matters of suspected irregularities or wrongdoing in relation to public finances. It does not cover protection for those who reveal information on other important matters of public concern such as substantial and specific danger to public health and safety including reporting of domestic violence, unsafe workplaces, systemic harassment etc. In 2017, the Office provided a submission to the CEDAW Legislative Compliance Review recommending the need for protection of informers of family violence in Samoa.147 The recommendation was one of the key recommendations made by the SLRC in its Final report to Parliament148 and was again reiterated in our Family Violence Inquiry Report in 2018.149 In 2018, there were calls for Samoa to develop whistleblower legislation in addition to provisions in the PFMA which provide protection for whistleblowers in the public sector who report fraud and other irregularities.150 This is captured in the 2020-2025 Public Administration Sector Plan (PASP) where one of the activities to be implemented is the development of guidelines or a Manual on reporting abuses in the public service. 151 A policy paper is currently being formulated which will inform a law on whistleblower protection in Samoa.152 Having a specific legislation or policy on whistleblower protection will assist in strengthening integrity in the public sector and promote good governance.153 Various Pacific Island States have also recognized the importance of having in place whistleblower protection and earlier this year shared on best practices which Samoa could learn and adopt in developing its laws on this issue.154 Overall, research and submissions reveal the need to create and develop laws to protect whistleblowers in Samoa from being exposed and retaliated against for disclosing misconduct.155 Such protection is 146 Public Finance Management Act 2014, section 116. Samoa Office of the Ombudsman NHRI, Submission on Legislative Compliance Review on the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (2016) https://ombudsman.gov.ws/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NHRI-response-to-CEDAWDiscussion-Paper-2016-by-SLRC.pdf. 148 See recommendation 7 – Samoa Law Reform Commission, Samoa’s Legislative Compliance with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women Final Report (2016) https://www.samoalawreform.gov.ws/wpcontent/uploads/2017/05/CEDAW-FINAL-REPORT-English-FINAL-compressed.pdf. 149 See Samoa Office of the Ombudsman NHRI, National Public Inquiry Report into Family Violence in Samoa (2018) https://ombudsman.gov.ws/wp-content/uploads/2019/01/2018_-SHRR-2018-National-Public-Inquiry-into-Family-Violence_-English.pdf. 150 See Public Finance Management Act 2014, section 116. 151 Public Service Commission, Public Administration Sector Plan 2020-2025 (2020) https://www.psc.gov.ws/public-administration-sectorplan-2020-2021-2024-2025-completed/. 152 Public Service Commission consultations (8 July 2021). 153 See Public Service Commission, Public Administration Sector Plan 2014-2018 Annual Review Narratibve Report (2015) https://www.psc.gov.ws/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/Final_Narrative-Report_PASP-Annual-Review.pdf. See video on best practices for whistleblower protection in the Pacific – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei__ZFCbI3s. 154 See Dr Ashley Savage, “Developing comprehensive whistleblower protections: An overview”, PILON Corruption Working Group & UNPRAC Webinar (March 2021) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ei__ZFCbI3s. 155 See OECD (2016), Committing to Effective Whistleblower Protection, OECD Publishing, Paris. https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/docserver/9789264252639-5en.pdf?expires=1625713056&id=id&accname=guest&checksum=1A6E80E0A3816857419ED7B89E253C13. 147 State of Human Rights Report 2021 | 38