Expertise France (EF) is a public agency created on the 1st of January 2015, and it has joined AFD Group as of January 1, 2022. EF offers program engineering and technical assistance by developing and implementing international cooperation actions worldwide. Expertise France is the French public agency for international technical assistance.

Project: Supporting progress in key areas of public administration reform in Lebanon

Since 2019, Lebanon has been facing one of the worst economic crises globally since the mid-nineteenth century according to the World Bank, with 2 major events intensifying its impact, the COVID-19 pandemic and the Beirut port explosion in 2020. As the financial and economic situation unfolds, the downfall can be seen in all of the country’s aspects, from the availability of state services to the functioning of public administrations. Understanding the extent of this downfall requires an overview of several key facts that could represent Lebanon’s new reality.

Lebanon has also been facing political and economic crises for several years. The country has a complex political system that is based on power-sharing arrangements among its religious sects. However, this system has led to political gridlock, corruption, and a lack of accountability, which has resulted in a deteriorating economic situation and social unrest. The political deadlock in Lebanon refers to the ongoing inability of the country's political leaders to form a functioning government. This deadlock has been repetitive and has always persisted for multiple months and sometimes years.

The country’s worsening context has severe consequences on all sectors, with Lebanese public administrations being the most affected due to the reduction of available public funds. This has affected the core of public services and the basic functioning of administrations.

A new EU Program Action started in December 2023 that aims to support progress in key areas of public administration reform in Lebanon through enhancing the integrity, transparency and accountability of its public administration aligned with the principles of a modern public administration. It consists of three outcomes:

1.       Safeguarding integrity of the public administration, mainly in the area of public human resources management (i.e. civil service reform);

2.       Enhancing transparency in public administration systems, mainly in the area of public procurement at central and local level (i.e. public financial management reform) and access to public information (i.e. accountability);

3.       Strengthening accountability of the administration by reinforcing the role of the main oversight bodies (i.e., Central Inspection Board, Court of Audits and National Anti-Corruption Commission) in implementing reform, fighting and preventing corruption.

This action will complement and reinforce the achievements made through the program “Anticorruption and Transparency at National Level in Lebanon” implemented by Expertise France until May 2023 and the AFD-funded project to support the public procurement reform implemented by EF until February 2024. It will also complement the current work done through the Lebanon Financing Facility of the “Reform, Recovery and Reconstruction Framework - 3RF”. This action is aligned with the opportunities of reform identified by the IMF Staff-Level Agreement and the principles of a modern public administration.

Needs justification

Lebanon lacks a solid, unified and effective legal system that can combat conflict of interest in both the public and private sector. An effective conflict of interest system is a cornerstone in preventing corruption and fostering a culture of integrity, which is one of the main outcomes of the National Anti-Corruption Strategy 2020-2025, and of the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC) which Lebanon has signed.

Under the previous Anti-Corruption and Transparency (ACT) project, funded by the European Union, a conflict-of-interest report was drafted following a legal mapping of Lebanese conflict of interest laws and regulations. However, since the publication of this report a few years ago, new laws and practices have emerged in Lebanon, especially regarding the National Anti-Corruption Commission and Public Procurement. One of the components of the current project is to support oversight bodies in strengthening accountability through reinforcing their roles.  This will mainly include the National Anti-Corruption Commission, the Public Procurement Authority, and the Civil Service Board. However, it could also touch the Central Inspection and the Court of Accounts. As such, the international expert’s work will support the mentioned bodies in technical assistance on conflict of interest, which includes an introduction to the Lebanese legal framework as well as recommendations through workshops and presentations.

This expert’s assignment will be carried out in a manner ensuring that the revision of the conflict‑of‑interest report incorporates comparative practices and aligns with international standards. The draft report has been reviewed by a Lebanese lawyer, the French Haute Autorité pour la transparence de la vie publique (HATVP), and the Agence Française Anticorruption (AFA), whose comments shall be integrated alongside the expert’s independent restructuring and revision of the report.

Given the need to benchmark Lebanese practices against international frameworks, the engagement of an international expert will extend to ensuring that recommendations are not only locally relevant but also consistent with global anti‑corruption standards, including the United Nations Convention Against Corruption (UNCAC), OECD Guidelines on Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service, G20 Good Practices, as well as French national legislation.