People in the NACS event

Anti-Corruption for Trust – Lebanon 

Anti-Corruption for Trust – Lebanon 

 

Summary

The project aims at enabling the adoption and measurable progress in the implementation of an integrated and targeted approach to preventing and combating corruption, that is in line with Lebanon’s commitments under the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), which Lebanon endorsed in September 2015, particularly SDG 16 on “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”, as well as the Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework (3RF) developed by the World Bank Group, the United Nations, and the European Union. 

The project targets four main outputs, as follows: 

  1. Capacity to oversee and monitor national anti-corruption strategy institutionalized and supported. 
  2. Specialized anti-corruption legislations enacted and supported for effective implementation. 
  3. National Anti-Corruption Institution (NACI) operationalized and strengthened. 
  4. Corruption risk management mechanisms integrated in key vulnerable sectors. 

Background 

Corruption is a systemic challenge for Lebanon and a major obstacle to the achievement of the 2030 Global Agenda for Sustainable Development. It is fostered and driven by a complex set of factors, including confessionalism, vulnerability to geopolitics, inadequate checks, and balances at the level of the three branches of Government, structural deficits in fiscal and tax policies, as well as inefficiencies in the economic model. Those factors manifest themselves in, and are exacerbated by, a poor governance system that is characterized by inefficiencies in the public administration, outdated and ineffective institutional arrangements for controls and audit, limited police and judicial capacities to uphold the rule of law, and the absence of key laws that are needed to effectively prevent and combat corruption. 

The severity of the corruption challenge and existing gaps in related reform efforts are highlighted across related international indicators. On the 2021 “Corruption Perception Index”, which is issued by Transparency International, ranking countries based on a scale ranging from 100 (very clean) to 0 (highly corrupt), Lebanon scored 24 over 100 compared to a regional average of 39 and a global average of 43. On the Global Competitiveness Index by the World Economic Forum, the country stands at a rank of 88/141. On the 2020 “E-Participation Index”, which is part of the United Nations’ E-government survey, assessing countries on a scale from 0 to 1, Lebanon scored 0.33 compared to a regional average of 0.66 and a global average of 0.56. Similarly, on the “E-Government Index”, which is part of the same survey, Lebanon scored 0.49 compared to a regional average of 0.68 and a global average of 0.59. On the 2020 Worldwide Governance Indicators (WGIs), which comprises six datasets on a scale ranging from -2.5 (worst) to +2.5 (best), Lebanon scored -1.15 on “Control of Corruption” and -0.90 on “Rule of Law”, well beyond the regional and global averages. 

The fight against corruption has become a national priority following the devastating explosion at the Beirut port on the 4th of August, which was compounded by the socio-economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the unprecedented economic crisis. Ever since, UNDP has been keen on providing the needed technical assistance to the Lebanese Government by increasing efforts to bridge gaps in implementation of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020-2025 (NACS) and the activation of the essential anti-corruption laws, mainly the access to information law, the whistleblowers protection law and the new assets and interest declaration model. The project is also helping in setting the ground for the facilitation of the work of the National Anti-Corruption Institution, and the integration of UNDP’s Corruption Risk Management Methodology into vulnerable sectors which if applied, would directly contribute to decreasing the level of corruption.

Major achievements

  • Supporting the establishment of the Anti-Corruption Institutional framework since 2011, represented by the Ministerial Anti-Corruption Committee (MACCom) and the Technical Anti-Corruption Committee (TACCom), as well the respective sub-committees and task teams. 
  • Leading on  the development of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020-2025 (NACS) following a participatory approach involving civil society, and its subsequent adoption by the Council of Ministers in May 2020. 
  • Maintaining and supporting the efforts of all concerned parties in monitoring and evaluating the implementation of the NACS.
  • Assisting the Minister of State for Administrative Reform in its capacity as president of the TACcom with the periodical review and progress report on the implementation of the strategy outputs which has resulted into the development and publication of the first report on the level of implementation of the NACS in October 2021. 
  • Supporting the finalization of the UNCAC self-assessment report of Chapter 2 on Preventive measures and Chapter 5 on Asset Recovery by the respective national task team, with the active engagement  of civil society organizations.
  • Building CSOs capacities and expanding their knowledge around the UNCAC self-assessment process towards an active and effective participation.  
  • Contributing to the development of laws in line with the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) through the provision of technical and legislative drafting support to Parliamentarians and relevant stakeholders.

Project outcome

Government’s ability to improve the performance of institutions and promote participation and accountability increased

GESI Component:

The project prioritizes the empowering of women to become more prominent actors in anti-corruption efforts by helping them identify challenges, shape priorities, and integrate their concerns in related initiatives. Thus, the focus on women participation is applied across all this project’s activities, along with the integration of a gender lens in the analyses conducted and the proposed policies, plans, and legal reforms at the national and local levels as well as cross-sectoral and sectoral levels. 

Impact

START DATE

March 2019

END DATE

August 2024

STATUS

Ongoing

PROJECT OFFICE

Lebanon

IMPLEMENTING PARTNER

United Nations Development Programme

DONORS

EUROPEAN COMMISSION

GOVERNMENT OF DENMARK

UNDP Funding Windows

UNITED NATIONS DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS

$7,627,214

DELIVERY IN PREVIOUS YEARS

2019$89,603

2020$399,466

2021$168,647

2022$754,765

2023$1,361,606

Full Project information