BEIRUT: In 2015, Lebanon ranked among the world’s most corrupt countries, according to Transparency International, a global organization that seeks to fight the abuse of power, bribery and secret deals
The organization placed Lebanon in 123rd place among 168 countries on its Corruption Perceptions Index, which ranks states based on how corrupt their public sector is perceived according to data gathered by variety of independent institutions.
The lack of access to information, according to Transparency International, is one the major reasons behind Lebanon’s highly perceived level of corruption.
Lebanese civil society groups have intensified their efforts in recent years to lobby lawmakers to ratify transparency and anticorruption laws but to no avail.
For instance, in 2013, the Lebanese parliament’s legislative committee approved a draft law that would grant citizens, journalists and civil society groups access to public information in a bid to keep government and other public bodies accountable. However, three years later and Parliament has yet to ratify the draft bill into law.