UN encouraged by Libya’s progress on finding solutions for remaining internally displaced persons

Tripoli, 31 August 2023 

Since late 2020, the Libyan government has found solutions for 80% of internally displaced persons working with communities to help address their issues.

Concluding his four-day visit to the country, where he met with government officials and internally displaced persons (IDPs), the United Nations Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Solutions to Internal Displacement, Robert Piper said that significant progress had been made toward resolving the challenges.

“Libya has managed to settle most of its displaced persons following the October 2020 ceasefire agreement. It’s an impressive record, thanks to a combination of strong community leadership, proactive Government measures and engaged international partners” said Piper.

Today, only one in five remain in displacement and plans are in place to find solutions for all those people who remain displaced from their communities. According to the International Organisation of Migration, the number of IDPs decreased from 316,000 in October 2020 to around 50,000 who still require substantial effort to realize solutions today. Most of those remaining displaced originate from the Tawergha and Murzuq communities. 

The Libyan government has facilitated solutions for its displaced persons through a series of ongoing measures designed in consultation with internally displaced committees. These include: (i) supporting security and fostering social inclusion, reconciliation processes and agreements between communities; (ii) supporting reconstruction in conflict-affected areas; (iii) removing legal and administrative obstacles to ensure displaced people can  access services; (iv) establishing funds for  reconstruction and compensating people for loss of property; (v) ensuring that displaced people are included in national social protection systems.  

“The prospects of ending internal displacement in Libya can occur with strong government leadership and increased government funding,” said Piper. “It is so important, that displaced families are able to choose their solutions pathways themselves and receive the support required for their realization,” he added.  

Piper visited Tripoli and Benghazi and met with the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministers of Local Governance, Social Affairs, Planning and the National Economic and Social Economic Board, as well as local mayors and IDPs and agreed with the government on a road map to resolve displacement in Libya and a mechanism to monitor its progress.

Libya is one of the fifteen countries selected to pilot new approaches to displacement solutions as called for by the UN Secretary-General’s High-Level Panel on Internal Displacement which concluded its work in late 2021. 

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