You can edit almost every page by Creating an account. Otherwise, see the FAQ.

Mark Worth

From EverybodyWiki Bios & Wiki

Worth speaks at the OECD Public Integrity Forum in Athens, 2017


Mark Worth is an American whistleblower advocate, investigative journalist, author and publisher.

He is a member of the UNODC Expert Group on Whistleblowing[1] and has served as an advisor and researcher for governments and organizations, including the UN,[2] European Commission,[3][4][5] OECD,[6] APEC,[7][8] the Federal Regional Court of Brazil,[9] and the Secretary of Transparency at Colombia's Office of the Presidency.[10]

He was involved with two recent whistleblower cases in Europe – the Tuzla Kvarc retaliation case in Bosnia and Herzegovina,[11] and the resignation of Malcolm Simmons from the EU's rule of law mission (EULEX) in Kosovo.[12][13]

Worth is the author of Zapped: Irradiation and the Death of Food, about the controversial technology of food irradiation. While at Public Citizen in the early 2000s, Worth was part of the campaign to block the approval of irradiated foods by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The campaign led to the pulling of irradiated foods from stores throughout the U.S.[14] and the bankruptcy of the leading irradiation company, SureBeam.

He initiated the international campaign to pressure the Karl May Museum in Radebeul, Germany, to repatriate Native American scalps to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and other tribes.

Strengthening whistleblower rights and protections[edit]

Worth has held positions at a number of international and regional organizations specializing in whistleblower protection, including:

Worth has participated in campaigns and projects to strengthen whistleblower rights and protections worldwide, including in Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina,[21] Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Croatia, Czech Republic, Germany,[22] Greece, Iceland, Italy, Macedonia,[23] Moldova, Nigeria, Serbia, Sweden, Taiwan, Tunisia, Ukraine,[24] the UK and across Europe.[25]

He advises and supports whistleblowers, investigates whistleblower disclosures, has written studies and reports on whistleblower protection, and has spoken at international and regional forums including the UN,[26] European Parliament,[27] APEC, Council of Europe,[28] OECD,[29][30] the International Anti-Corruption Conference[31] and the Sorbonne.[32] He wrote the first studies on whistleblower policies in the EU and Southeast Europe, and co-wrote the first study on G20 countries.

His work and activities have been cited in media outlets including the New York Times,[33] Le Monde,[34] Deutsche Welle[35][36][37] and EUobserver.[38] They have been cited by organizations including the American Bar Association,[39] Government Accountability Project,[40] European University Institute[41] and the European Center for Press and Media Freedom.[42]

Worth's studies on whistleblower protection policies, initiatives and cases include:

  • "Safe or Sorry: Whistleblower Protection Laws in Europe Deliver Mixed Results (for the European Commission)[43]
  • "Gaps in the System: Whistleblower Laws in the EU" (2018) (for the European Commission)[44]
  • "Protecting Whistleblowers in Southeast Europe: A Review of Policies, Cases and Initiatives" (2017) (supported by the National Endowment for Democracy)[45]
  • "Public Attitudes to Whistleblowing in South East Europe" (2017)[46] (for the Regional Cooperation Council)
  • "Protecting Whistleblowers in the UK: A New Blueprint" (2016)
  • “Breaking the Silence: Strengths & Weaknesses in G20 Whistleblower Protection Laws" (2015)[47]
  • “Whistleblower Protection in Southeast Europe: An Overview of Laws, Practice, and Recent Initiatives” (2015)[48] (for the Regional Anti-Corruption Initiative)
  • “Whistleblower Protection in the Swiss Private Sector” (2015)[49]
  • “Whistleblowing in Europe: Legal Protections for Whistleblowers in the EU” (2013) (for the European Commission)
  • “International Principles for Whistleblower Legislation” (2013) (for the European Commission)

Transparency International[edit]

Worth was the Whistleblower Program Coordinator at Transparency International from 2012-13. His work contributed to the passage of new whistleblower protection laws in Greece and Slovakia, and the development of proposed laws in several countries including Latvia.

In 2013 he wrote a report on whistleblower protection laws and practices in the European Union, "Whistleblowing in Europe" and "International Principles for Whistleblower Legislation", and organised and spoke at the international conference "Whistleblowing for Change".

Worth's Voices for Change video features whistleblowers Wendy Addison (South Africa), Thomas Drake (US), James Shelton (Australia) and Guido Strack (Germany).

Among other venues, he has spoken at the Heinrich Boll Foundation, the European University Institute and the University of Amsterdam.[50]

Washington Free Press[edit]

Worth's 1994 investigation of Boeing, co-authored by Eric Nelson with additional research by Andrea Helm, was published in the Washington Free Press.[51] (Worth co-founded the Free Press in Seattle in 1992 with Alex Mayer and Amy Tullis.) The package of articles, entitled "It's All In Your Head," describes how "Hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Boeing workers say they've been sickened by the chemicals used at Boeing plants throughout Puget Sound. But instead of giving these workers the medical and financial help they need, Boeing -- with the help of its connections within state government and the medical establishment -- is saying many workers just have psychological problems."[51] Worth and Nelson received the 1994 Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) award for magazine writing.[52][53] IRE awards are considered among the "most prestigious" in the field of journalism."[54][55][56]

The Free Press found that Boeing told workers—mostly women—to use chemicals and materials that that company knew was toxic and caused health problems, did not provide workers adequate safety equipment, denied workers' compensation benefits, and hired doctors who contended that the workers' health problems were actually psychologically based. The investigation also found evidence of collusion between Boeing and the Washington state government agency that oversees the workers' compensation program.

One sickened Boeing worker, Claudia "Dea" Sartain, committed suicide after her worker's compensation benefits were terminated by the state of Washington upon Boeing's urging. In her suicide note, obtained by the Free Press, Sartain described the working conditions at Boeing's parts fabrication plant in Auburn, Washington: working while hanging upside-down ("We would stay in these positions sometimes for days ..."), working with carcinogenic adhesives ("Women were having miscarriages all the time ..."), and arguing with her boss about handling toxic chemicals ("All you're worried about is this material. How much is my life worth?"). Shortly after New Year's Day of 1990, Sartain stole her brother's gun, drove to a friend's house, and shot herself in the front yard. Sartain was 32.[57]

Public Citizen[edit]

As a Research Director at Public Citizen, Worth was involved with a campaign in the early 2000s to expose the risks of food irradiation and to prevent US and international agencies from approving and promoting the technology. The campaign blocked the approval of irradiated foods by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, led to irradiated foods being pulled from stores and restaurants throughout the U.S.,[14] helped push the leading irradiation company, SureBeam, into bankruptcy.[58]

Worth authored several reports that documented failures by the US Food and Drug Administration and the World Health Organization to adequately screen the safety of irradiated foods before approving or recommending them for public consumption. These reports include:

  • A Broken Record: How the FDA Legalized – and Continues to Legalize – Food Irradiation Without Testing It for Safety (co-authored by Samuel Epstein's Cancer Prevention Coalition)
  • Bad Taste: The Disturbing Truth of the World Health Organization's Endorsement of Food Irradiation, and
  • Hidden Harm: How the FDA is Ignoring the Potential Dangers of Unique Chemicals in Irradiated Food (co-authored by Peter Jenkins of the Center for Food Safety).

Worth also co-authored the first book about food irradiation written for the general public, Zapped: Irradiation and the Death of Food (with Wenonah Hauter of Food & Water Watch). The book presents "an honest public debate about reforming a broken food production and marketing system," said former Texas Agriculture Commissioner Jim Hightower.[59]

While at Public Citizen, Worth arranged for the first English translation of a German study revealing that a chemical formed in irradiated food can cause genetic mutations. The chemical, known as 2-DCB, was found to cause "significant DNA damage" in the colons of rats that ate the substance. The chemical has never been found naturally in any food on Earth.

"Who Really Runs Seattle"[edit]

In 1998 Worth wrote "Who Really Runs Seattle": A Who's Who of the City's Backroom Wheeler-Dealers -- "an extensive review of people affiliated with Seattle's biggest corporations, most influential lobbying groups, largest nonprofits, highest-stakes political campaigns, and most visible government agencies [that] reveals the existence of ... a well-connected network of people in the city whose names keep coming up again and again." The exposé was published in the Seattle Weekly.[60]

Investigative journalism[edit]

Worth's articles, written for various publications, have exposed:

  • a dubious whistleblower program set up by German-based engineering multinational Siemens.
  • a network of powerful political and business interests in Seattle,[60]
  • environmental harm caused by Boeing,[61]
  • the funneling of low-income housing funds to an upscale shopping mall in Seattle,[62]
  • political meddling by a water conglomerate in California,[63]
  • misconduct by a small-town mayor in Florida.[64]

Repatriation of Native American remains[edit]

In 2011 Worth began an international campaign to pressure the Karl May Museum in Radebeul, Germany, to repatriate Native American scalps to the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians and other Tribes. "It is fitting that the Karl May Museum - whose limited knowledge and false impressions of Native Americans have their foundation in fictional characters invented by someone who had spent limited time with Native Americans - is now claiming to know the best resting place for remains of Native Americans," he said.[65] The controversy has been reported in many media outlets, including The New York Times,[66] The Guardian,[67] Der Spiegel,[68] The Independent,[69] and Deutsche Welle.[70]

Worth spoke at a public event about the controversy at the annual Karl May Festival in Radebeul on May 31, 2014. Worth joined Cecil Pavlat of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, Ray Halbritter of the Oneida Indian Nation, Radebeul Mayor Bert Wendsche, and Karl May Museum director Claudia Kaulfuss (see 1:46 of video).

References[edit]

  1. https://www.unodc.org/documents/corruption/Publications/2015/15-04741_Person_Guide_eBook.pdf
  2. http://www.api.md/news/view/ro-avertizorii-de-integritate-au-nevoie-de-protectie-din-partea-statului-1192
  3. http://www.euam-ukraine.eu/news/people-should-not-suffer-for-telling-the-truth-whistleblowing-roundtable-hears/
  4. http://fighting-occ.mk/ambitious-public-campaign-to-promote-whistleblowing-moves-ahead/
  5. https://euobserver.com/justice/121873
  6. https://www.slideshare.net/OECD-GOV/whistleblowing-and-the-response-of-government-mark-worth
  7. https://whistleblower.tier.org.tw/agenda.aspx
  8. http://www.upmedia.mg/news_info.php?SerialNo=21219
  9. https://www2.trf4.jus.br/trf4/controlador.php?acao=noticia_visualizar&id_noticia=12254
  10. http://www.secretariatransparencia.gov.co/prensa/2015/Paginas/la-meta-es-hacer-que-ser-denunciante-sea-normal.aspx
  11. https://see-whistleblowing.org/official-at-center-of-tuzla-kvarc-case-sent-to-prison/
  12. http://kosovotwopointzero.com/en/disgraced-eulex-judge-goes-ground/
  13. https://see-whistleblowing.org/out-of-order-high-ranking-eu-judge-lacked-credentials-to-serve-on-kosovos-bench/
  14. 14.0 14.1 "<html>".
  15. https://www.whistleblower.org/blog/105506-new-ngo-fights-whistleblower-rights-europe
  16. http://prishtinainsight.com/macedonian-whistleblowers-receive-free-speech-award/
  17. http://forumkyiv.org/en/speakers/mark-vors
  18. http://www.dw.com/en/africa-needs-to-catch-up-with-protection-for-whistleblowers/a-37873356
  19. http://www.dw.com/en/most-of-europe-has-no-whistleblower-protection/a-16942870
  20. http://www.dw.com/en/the-balkans-new-zeal-for-protecting-whistleblowers/a-18603100
  21. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "The Balkans' new zeal for protecting whistleblowers - Europe - DW.COM - 23.07.2015".
  22. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Germany's dire record on protecting whistleblowers - Germany - DW.COM - 26.09.2014".
  23. http://fighting-occ.mk/ambitious-public-campaign-to-promote-whistleblowing-moves-ahead/
  24. http://www.euam-ukraine.eu/news/people-should-not-suffer-for-telling-the-truth-whistleblowing-roundtable-hears/
  25. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "'Most of Europe has no whistleblower protection' - Europe - DW.COM - 11.07.2013".
  26. "UN Forum 2015: Side events - Business & Human Rights Resource Centre".
  27. "9 dicembre Giornata Internazionale contro la corruzione: Libera e don Ciotti a Bruxelles con l'Agenda europea contro mafie e corruzione".
  28. http://www.coe.int/t/dghl/standardsetting/cdcj/Whistleblowers/Consultation%20meeting%20on%20Whistleblowers%20-%20Report%20of%20the%20Rapporteur_E.pdf
  29. OECD Governance. "Keeping Pace: Whistleblowing and the Response of Government, Mark Wor…".
  30. http://www.oecd.org/cleangovbiz/2014SymposiumEthicsGovernanceAgenda.pdf
  31. "Whistling Around the World: Growing an International Movement to Connect Whistleblowers with Investigative Journalists - The 15th International Anti-Corruption Conference, Brazil, 7-10 November 2012".
  32. https://www.pantheonsorbonne.fr/fileadmin/UMRdroitcompare/programme_colloque_lanceurs_d_alerte_CREDOF3.pdf
  33. https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/15/world/europe/spanish-activists-push-for-laws-to-protect-whistle-blowers.html
  34. http://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2017/03/07/les-lanceurs-d-alerte-africains-ont-un-urgent-besoin-de-protection_5090532_3212.html
  35. http://www.dw.com/en/germanys-dire-record-on-protecting-whistleblowers/a-17923312
  36. http://www.dw.com/en/the-balkans-new-zeal-for-protecting-whistleblowers/a-18603100
  37. http://www.dw.com/en/can-whistleblowers-be-recognized-as-refugees/a-38632030
  38. https://euobserver.com/justice/121873
  39. http://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/publications/criminal_justice_magazine/v31/OLIVER.pdf
  40. https://www.whistleblower.org/blog/105506-new-ngo-fights-whistleblower-rights-europe
  41. http://journalism.cmpf.eui.eu/maps/whistleblowing/
  42. https://www.rcmediafreedom.eu/Publications/Reports/Protecting-Whistleblowers-in-Southeast-Europe-a-review-of-policies-cases-and-initiatives
  43. https://blueprintforfreespeech.net/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/BLUEPRINT-Safe-or-Sorry-Whistleblower-Protection-Laws-in-Europe-Deliver-Mixed-Results.pdf
  44. https://www.changeofdirection.eu/assets/uploads/BLUEPRINT%20-%20Gaps%20in%20the%20System%20-%20Whistleblowers%20Laws%20in%20the%20EU.pdf
  45. http://rai-see.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Protecting-Whistleblowers-in-SE-Europe.pdf
  46. http://www.rcc.int/news/268/rcc-survey-only-slightly-more-than-half-of-people-surveyed-region-wide-said-whistleblowers-should-be-supported
  47. https://blueprintforfreespeech.net/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/Breaking-the-Silence-Strengths-and-Weaknesses-in-G20-Whistleblower-Protection-Laws1.pdf
  48. http://rai-see.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/Whistleblower_Protection_in_SEE.pdf
  49. "Archived copy" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-03. Retrieved 2016-02-24.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  50. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2015-02-20. Retrieved 2015-02-20.CS1 maint: Archived copy as title (link)
  51. 51.0 51.1 "Washington Free Press Issue 8 Directory - #8 Feb/Mar 94".
  52. https://www.ire.org/awards/ire-awards/winners/1994-ire-award-winners/
  53. https://www.ire.org/resource-center/stories/10607/
  54. https://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=102851849
  55. https://www.readfrontier.org/investigative-journalists-are-doing-a-world-of-good-right-now/
  56. https://thewire.in/books/worth-investigative-journalism
  57. ""It's All In Your Head" - #8 Feb/Mar 94".
  58. https://www.foodnavigator.com/Article/2004/01/13/Lights-out-for-SureBeam
  59. http://world.qualitedeleau.info/zapped-download-epub-from-site-81415
  60. 60.0 60.1 Worth, Mark (October 9, 2006). "Who REALLY Runs Seattle?". Seattle News. Retrieved 12 January 2017.
  61. "Stealth Polluter - #1 Apr 93".
  62. "King Street, easy street".
  63. Worth, Mark. "You don't have to crack the latest annual report of the American Water Works Company to figure out that this is a hungry corporation".
  64. "Sarasota Herald-Tribune - Google News Archive Search".
  65. (www.dw.com), Deutsche Welle. "Wild West museum in row over Native American scalps - Globalization - DW.COM - 19.03.2014".
  66. Eddy, Melissa (August 17, 2014). "Lost in Translation: Germany's Fascination With the American Old West". The New York Times.
  67. Philip Oltermann. "German museum in row with US activists over tribal scalps". the Guardian.
  68. SPIEGEL ONLINE, Hamburg, Germany (18 August 2014). "Karl-May-Museum in Radbeul: US-Ureinwohner fordern Skalpe zurck". SPIEGEL ONLINE.
  69. "Native Americans ask German museum to return human scalps in its display". The Independent.
  70. "Wild West museum in row over Native American scalps". DW.DE.


This article "Mark Worth" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Mark Worth. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.