Lebanon Finalizes Self-Assessment of UNCAC Implementation

Lebanon - Tuesday, April 28, 2015

The Technical Anti-Corruption Committee in Lebanon finalized the self-assessment of the implementation of the UN Convention against Corruption (UNCAC) with the support of UNDP’s regional project on Anti-Corruption and Integrity in the Arab Countries (ACIAC). The Chair Committee, the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, Nabil de Freij, established two teams to conduct the self-assessment. The process took more than a year, during which one team assessed the implementation of Chapter II that deals with preventive measures, while the other team focused on the implementation of Chapter V that deals with asset recovery, noting that Lebanon had already completed in 2013 the assessment of Chapters III and IV that deal with criminalization and law enforcement, and international cooperation, respectively.

The assessment enables countries to identify existing de jure and de facto gaps between national laws and their obligations under the Convention. It is required from Lebanon as a result of its commitment, under the “Review Mechanism”, to submit periodic reports on the progress of its efforts to implement the UNCAC, as is the case with the other States Parties, which currently stand at 175 countries. The "Review Mechanism" is an international process established to monitor the implementation of the Convention and support related efforts made by the States Parties. At the time when the report that was submitted by Lebanon in 2013 is being reviewed, the completion of the new report on Chapters II and V represents an important proactive measure that increases the readiness of the State for the next stage of the Review Mechanism, while also helping to provide a more solid platform for the development of the first national anti-corruption strategy in the history of the country, an objective which falls under the mandate of the Ministerial Anti-Corruption Committee that was established at the end of 2011, and functions with the support of the aforementioned Technical Committee.

The first team was chaired by Judge Bassam Wehbe representing the Audit Bureau, and included Antoine Gebran representing the Civil Service Board, Judge Ziad Ayoub representing the Ministry of Interior, and Hussein Ramlawi representing the High Commission for Discipline. The second team was headed by Judge Said Mirza representing the Prime Minister Office, and included Judge Arlette Jreissaty representing the Ministry of Justice, Judge Nada Asmar representing the Attorney General’s Office, May Naggear representing the Special Investigation Committee at the Central Bank, and Walid Shaar representing the Ministry of Finance. Charbel Sarkis, the legal advisor to the Minister of State for Administrative Reform, acted as a member in both teams and coordinated their work.

Efforts are currently underway to draft an executive summary of the self-assessment in preparation for circulation to promote a broader discussion with other stakeholders and enable building on it to support the implementation of the UNCAC in Lebanon. This is done in cooperation with UNDP-ACIAC and the Arab Anti-Corruption and Integrity Network (ACINET), who collaborate to provide technical assistance to assess and implement the UNCAC across the Arab region, noting that Lebanon is the first Arab country to formally complete the self-assessment of the four main Chapters of the Convention.