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BEIRUT: Interior Minister Ziyad Baroud was handed on Wednesday the UN Public Service Award for 2010, during a ceremony held in Barcelona. The award, considered one of the most prestigious honors for public service, was awarded to Lebanon out of 400 international public administrations. The UN Public Administration Network (UNPAN) ranked Lebanon first, mainly for the Interior Ministry’s work during the 2009 parliamentary elections. The award is given yearly to public institutions that lead to a more effective and a more responsive administration. The award ceremony was held in Barcelona in Spain and envoys of over 70 countries were present at the ceremony, in addition to the UN Undersecretary General for Economic and Social Affairs Sha Zukang. A presentation showing the situation before and after the elections was displayed during the ceremony and Baroud gave a speech in which he said: “This award is not only handed to the Interior Ministry but also to all of Lebanon and to the Lebanese people who can now say they are part of our achievements.” He continued to say the award proved Lebanon was capable of competing with other countries in both private and public sectors. He stressed the public sector in Lebanon could also succeed and show a better image of the country. “This is the image we should show: A country able to succeed as a group not only as individuals,” Baroud added, noting that the lesson to learn from the award was that a substantial jump was possible despite the modesty of resources. The minister then confirmed the award was not the only success story for Lebanese public administrations but rather another occasion for the name of Lebanon to be raised high internationally. Baroud also participated in a workshop during his stay in Barcelona and explained the ministry’s approach during the 2009 elections.
UNPAN considered the organization of the
elections to have used modern methods and
innovative equipment and said the ministry
contributed in reinforcing participation in
decision making. – The Daily Star
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