LocationsInternational Anti-Corruption Day
On the occasion of the International Anti-Corruption Day (IACD) 2020, youth groups representing higher education institutions in Lebanon* , as well as leading civil society organisations**, came together to discuss with OMSAR’s Minister Mr. Dimyanos Kattar, UNDP’s Resident Coordinator Ms. Celine Moyroud, and the Chairperson of the Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), Dr. Mosbah Majzoub, the progress in the implementation of the National AntiCorruption Strategy 2020-2025 (NACS). The event was organised by UNDP as part of its campaign this year, striving at engaging youth in the anti-corruption efforts, by instigating a nation-wide discussion on the role of youth as change agents in advancing Lebanon’s anti-corruption agenda. Youth were provided by the opportunity to express their stance through direct dialogue with decision makers, and through illustrating their perceptions of corruption and the fight against it as part of a postage stamp design competition in which UNDP partnered with LibanPost.
The rich discussions and interventions brought about important indicators on the participant’s awareness of the legal framework governing Lebanon’s anti-corruption efforts. This was reflected by the solid approach and roadmaps suggested by the speakers, all of which build upon the voted bills as well as pending drafts before the parliament, the essential means to recovery and optimised integrity.
The National Anti-Corruption Strategy came at the centre of all interventions considering it as a road map for the anti-corruption agenda and a pre-requisite to Lebanon’s reform, recovery, and reconstruction. The participants dissected the NACS in a very strategic and technical way, by identifying priorities and responsibilities, moreover, by questioning the political will to advance the anti-corruption agenda.
Participants collectively agreed to the fact that the Access to Information law is a quintessential enabler of accountability, participation and transparency, however they questioned the administration’s willingness to ramp up the capacities of the designated information officers and fulfil their obligations towards automatic publication of information. This was derived from the multiplicity of questions on how can the government of Lebanon change this and incite obligated administrations to abide by the law.
The UNESCO club representative, Nour Hajj Hassan, considered the ATI as an essential pillar to democracy.
‘Speaking of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy, the Access to Information Law constitutes a major component of the latter, as it is one of the pillars of viable democracies, as it allows us, citizens, to hold our government accountable, and to engage in public affairs’.
Representative of the Youth Leadership Programme (YLP), Mohamad Arnaout touched upon the establishment and activation of the National AntiCorruption Institution (NACI) as a key enabler of the implementation of anti-corruption bills, in addition to the activation and capacity ramp-up of the existing oversight bodies.
‘If we get to scrutinise the capabilities of our oversight bodies, we find that the court of accounts has only 12 auditors whose tasks include auditing and validating the accounts of all administrations within the Lebanese state, in addition to 70 inspectors at the central inspection in charge of monitoring the work of 400,000 public servants [..]’
‘Accountability is almost absent, at a time when we are in dire need for an independent judiciary that is capable of holding wrongdoers accountable’
Having in place an updated and effective system for combating Illicit enrichment, lifting banking secrecy and civil service bills, amongst others were also approached in the interventions which the representatives of youth groups made, as all of them agreed that the risks of corruption are increasing in Lebanon and fighting corruption is a priority.
Another indicator to the youth willingness to foster a culture of integrity, is their demand to partake in the discussion surrounding the education curricula, thus, having them integrated in the policy-making processes through regular consultations.
At a time when we are trying to rebuild a nation based on the fundamental values of integrity, accountability, inclusivity and democracy, the upcoming generation needs to be given the space to think and speak freely. As such, we would like to address the failures towards the current civic education system’.
Representatives of the participating universities and CSOs showed keenness on maintaining strong and transparent public institutions by ensuring independence within the respective structures, reinforcing more effective recruitment and HR management mechanisms, by instigating and maintaining an effective conflict of interest management system and by integrating technology into government transactions and strengthening oversight authorities. As Christina Hayek from the AUB Business Integrity Network puts it:
‘In our society, our public institutions are our columns, they are there to support us. And we know that they are not functioning right, that’s why we need to reorganize them’.
Coordinated and balanced development was amongst the topics which the representative of DRI AbdulSattar Merheb raised. Merheb who lives in Akkar stated in his intervention the demands of the inhabitants of rural areas, mostly farmers who ‘want you to only protect their products and harvest from smuggling’, adding that corruption across sectors has detrimental implication on the lives of farmers as well as on development of rural provinces.
At the end during the discussion with youth, they have agreed on organizing a youth conference towards having a youth Anti-Corruption Strategy which builds on the National one.
As a build-up to this National event, UNDP have held a series of town hall meeting across Lebanon, in order to reach out and mobilise youth to play a more active and a leading role in the fight against corruption. Nine meetings throughout November and December 2020 took place in coordination with university clubs and partner organisations. The discussion throughout focused on the role of youth in the implementation of National Anti-Corruption Strategy.
*American University of Beirut (AUB); La Sagesse University (ULS); Haigazian University (HU); Notre Dame University (NDU), University of Balamand (UOB)
**Democracy Reporting International (DRI), Gherbal Initiative, Lebanese Transparency Association (LTA), Youth Leadership Programme (YLP)