CIVIL SOCIETY & LOCAL AUTHORITIES > LIBYA
Libya, showing a new face to the world Under Muammar Gaddafi's www.enpi-info.eu regime, the state’s institutions and the country’s social fabric were ravaged. But Libyan civil society organisations have been quick in their actions to repair the democratic damage that has been wrought. So far, over 300 organisations have registered as civil society organisations and are pursuing training programmes in order to contribute to the country’s nation-building process and to sustain its transition to a democratic state. The EU has responded rapidly to support the Libyan people. For example, a number of programmes have been launched to shore up civil society, which is a key aspect of a fledgling democracy. This is a report from the field. Text by: Zainab Tarbah and EU Neighbourhood Info Centre Photos by: Zainab Tarbah and the Libyan Forum for Effective Citizenship and Democracy TRIPOLI - Libyans started to become familiar with the word ‘civil society’ for the first time in February 2011, when the uprising began. At the time, efforts to create a fledgling Libyan civil society were focussing on matters such as providing food and shelter for refugees or supporting freedom fighters and their families. After the end of the conflict, things started to change and the debate in this arena moved on to human rights, education and politics… Libya is currently undergoing a huge transformation. Not only is the country undergoing a democratic transition, as is happening in other ‘Arab Spring’ countries but it is also coming to terms with a nation-building process. Gaddafi's regime wrecked the state’s institutions as well as the country’s social fabric. Civil society is a crucial part of the process This publication does of repairing this damage and has a huge role to play in today's Libya. No government can be accountable withnot represent the out having a constructive relationship with a strong civil society that official view of the EC is actively involved in democratic processes. or the EU institutions. EU Neighbourhood Info Centre The EU has put in place a programme to support government minThe EC accepts no Feature no. 87 istries in their dealings with civil society. In practice, this means that responsibility or This is a series of features on projects liability whatsoever advisers are assisting ministries with the revision of regulations, staff funded by the EU, prepared by with regard to its training and advice on funding for civil society organisations. Whilst journalists and photographers on the content. government should seek to nurture civil society, it cannot create it. ground or the EU Neighbourhood European funds have therefore been provided for a programme to set Info Centre. up civil society resource centres in communities around Libya. The © 2013 EU/Neighbourhood Info Centre funds will be used to provide training and small grants. “Libya is a very
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Libya, showing a new face to the world EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 87
new country for European civil society organisations and a terra incognita for international development partners,” says Fabienne Bessonne, Libya Desk Officer at the European Commission’s Directorate General EuropeAid. “Libyan NGOs are atypical, the numbers of them are growing but most of them are not structured. That’s why we are supporting them. We have already launched seven civil society programmes and, in 2012, we organised the EU-Libya Civil Society Forum both in Tripoli and Benghazi to improve the EU’s and Libyan civil society organisations’ knowledge of each other.” “The forum was quite successful and gathered in total more than 300 Libyan and 30 European civil society organisations,” adds Ms Bessonne. “The exchange of ideas was fruitful and some new partnerships are being developed.” n The Libyan women joining an NGO in the 50s: the old picture is hanging on the wall of the Libyan Forum for Effective Citizenship and Democracy
n Ms Suzanna Kodsi, head of Cooperation in the EU Delegation to Libya
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Mr Khairi Mansour during a press conference
n Ms Awatif Al Khabouli, the coordinator of the Tripoli’s office of the Libyan Forum for Effective Citizenship and Democracy
Four training centres in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Sabha The EU support covers the establishment of civil society resource centres, capacity building activities for civil society organisations (for example through training in advocacy and fundraising, project management and financial management etc.); support for local authorities and civil society on joint local development plans and setting up exchanges between Libyan and European/regional civil society organisations. In particular, the second year of the ‘Civil Initiatives Libya’ programme - funded by the EU and implemented by a consortium of international NGOs such as ACTED, CESVI and PIN - offers training sessions and a range of services to local NGOs in order to facilitate their activities. Four multi-purpose training centres for emerging civil society organisations have been set up in Tripoli, Benghazi, Misrata and Sabha. “The opening of the centre in Sabha is a huge achievement considering the difficulties related to the security situation,” adds Ms Bessonne. “The centre is an essential place to meet, interact in and even receive visitors. The Sabha centre will work closely with the university and will greatly help civil society organisations in this remote area to overcome their isolation.” “The fact that they exist as civil society organisations is in itself an achievement,” says Remy Reymann, a project director for ACTED. “These organisations are now paying the price of 42 years of isolation, especially management-wise. But they are extremely capable of improving. Some of them are developing fast, so I think in a short time civil society organisations in Libya will be performing much better.” The training centre in Tripoli consists of a small hall for seminars and round table discussions, three meeting rooms, a media centre with an extra private space for women, a small mosque, two offices and a small library. The centre has been up and running since June 2012. According to Mr Hisham Al Werfalli, the Deputy Programme Director of ‘Civil Initiatives Libya’, Tripoli’s Centre reached a peak of activity in early September when almost 500 individual non-governmental organisations registered there. Both the centres in Benghazi and Misrata are just as active, he says. “Civil Society in Libya is getting stronger and stronger even though many people were questioning the capability of the NGOs in this country. But the response of the people has been impressive,” he says. Among the many activities, a ‘train the trainers’ programme was implemented in Tripoli and today 10 people are ready to become trainers and to start training other people in different cities. Mr Zoran Krtinic’ from Cyprus was responsible for the training process. He is a man with a considerable amount of knowledge in this field as he comes from a country that has recent experience when it comes to civil society organisations and the practice of democracy. “For me it was a great experience,” he says. “The Libyan participants were very eager to work, very committed and dedicated, even though everything is pretty much new to them. The level of English was also quite good because many of them had been educated
“Libyan NGOs are atypical, the numbers of them are growing, but most of them are not structured. That’s why we are supporting them”
“Our commitment to the Libyan people is an investment in the future as cooperation with Libya will strengthen both Libya and the EU”
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The participants at a Training of trainers course hold their final diploma
Libya, showing a new face to the world
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EU Neighbourhood Info Centre – Feature no. 87
“These organisations are now paying the price of 42 years of isolation, especially managementwise. But they are extremely capable of improving. Some of them are developing fast”
abroad.” Visits to Europe are also organised, particularly to countries that have recently experienced a transition process towards democracy. A group of eight Libyan citizens, four men and four women from different Libyan cities and civil society organisations, were selected to visit Prague, Bruno and Ostrava in the Czech Republic in an effort to gain an insight into the main steps towards the growth and development of civil society.
Europe and Libya sharing now the same knowledge The Libyan Forum for Effective Citizenship and Democracy is one of the most active civil society organisations in Libya. The forum was originally founded in Al Bayda, a small Libyan city in the east, and opened its doors in May 2011, focusing on the education of society. The office in Tripoli started its first workshops in February 2012 and focused on election observation right after the constitutional declaration. “Among the biggest problems faced by most of the civil society’s organisations is finding convenient premises to meet and getting the financial support necessary to get started,” says Awatif Al Khabouli, the coordinator of Tripoli’s office. “Our government is lacking in all this, but luckily the EU is doing what should be done by our government… ” “We are very thankful to Europe,” she concludes. “We have learned from them. They have helped us to streamline our ideas and to direct our efforts… We are sharing their knowledge now.” “The EU responded rapidly to support the Libyan people. Now it is important to keep the momentum of change up,” says Suzanne Kodsi, the Head of cooperation in the EU Delegation to Libya. “Our commitment to the Libyan people is an investment in the future as cooperation with Libya will strengthen both Libya and the EU. It’s the right moment to help this country. We feel Libya is on the right track to secure a vibrant democracy and we are here to help the Libyan people show the world the new face of their country.”
Main EU programmes in Libya In addition to "Civil Initiatives Libya" the ENPI funded programmes are: • Security Sector Reform and Rule of Law programme (€ 10 improvement of the sector. million) to support the capacity building in the police and the • Public Administration Capacity-building Facility (€4.5 million) for justice sectors. the development of a democratic and an efficient public • A TVET programme (€ 6.5 million) will improve the quality of the administration. training on offer as well as their relevance to the demands of the • Education programme (€2.4 million) to get children back to labour market. In addition, reintegration of unemployed could school and provide psychological and social support to children help support integration of former fighters. and teachers. • Health, the EU has always considered the health sector in Libya • Migration programme (€10 million) to ensure the basic needs as a priority for future assistance. Additional EU assistance in this and rights of foreign migrants in Libya and Libyan migrants in area (€ 8.5 million programme) will focus on primary health care Tunisia and Egypt. and address both immediate service delivery and quality Other programmes include : • Nine Civil society programmes (€13 million) addressing capacity building, human rights, women's rights, media as well as reconciliation issues. • Two Health programmes one (€3.9 million) on AIDS, on communicable diseases and on blood safety and one (€2 million) on rehabilitation services for the war wounded. • Security: Support for "Capacity building for crisis response and crime investigations" (€4.3 million) and assistance to the Libyan authorities on physical security and stockpile management (PSSM) of conventional weapons and ammunition (€ 5 million) and on clearance of unexploded ordnances to create a safe and EU Neighborhood Info Centre - EU assistance to Libya: http://enpi-info.eu/medportal/news/latest/27475/Libya:-EUadopts-%E2%82%AC10-million-package-for-education,-administra tion-and-civil-society EU support to Libya http://europa.eu/rapid/pressReleasesAction.do?reference=MEMO/ 11/779&format=HTML&aged=0&language=EN&guiLanguage=en
secure environment (€ 5 million). • Migration: The EU is implementing five programmes, bilateral and regional, which started pre-revolution for a total of € 19 million to support the government in dealing with migration flows and assistance to the migrants (e.g. voluntary repatriation). • Protection of vulnerable groups (€ 4 million) by developing effective protection systems for vulnerable groups, including minorities and migrants, and strengthening the capacity of national and local authorities and non-state actors to meet their particular needs. EU Neighbourhood Info Centre page on Libya: http://www.enpi-info.eu/countrymed.php?country=11 EU Neighbourhood Info Centre thematic page: Civil Society and Local Authorities http://www.enpi-info.eu/thememed.php?subject=14
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