Libya Reconciliation and Justice Activity

BACKGROUND

Following the success of the previous USAID initiative supporting Libyan led reconciliation leading to the groundbreaking 2022 Murzuq Peace and Reconciliation Agreement, USAID launched the Reconciliation and Justice Activity (LRJA). LRJA ensures that victims, citizens, communities, and civil society organizations have the knowledge and opportunities to meaningfully engage in reconciliation initiatives and transitional justice processes.

PROGRAM DESCRIPTION

USAID strengthens the capacities of national authorities and local stakeholders to launch reconciliation initiatives that promote peace, redress grievances, support mental health and psychosocial networks, and advance a durable political transition in Libya. Through LRJA, USAID supports citizen-led accountability and counters forces that seek to sow division. This activity contributes to the Global Fragility Act objectives to better integrate the historically marginalized south into national structures and to increase the participation of southern constituencies in governance and social frameworks that advance a unified and stable Libyan State. 

GOALS

Citizen Centric Reconciliation

Support initiatives that develop citizen-centric reconciliation and justice mechanisms, including the design and implementation of reconciliation policies, legal frameworks and a national reconciliation strategy

Grassroots Engagement

Enourage equal representation of marginalized groups like women, youth, and people with disabilities, and advances meaningful grassroots and civil society engagement in reconciliation and transitional justice initiatives

Localized Initiatives

Deliver small grants supporting human rights defenders, advocacy in restricted spaces, and grassroots transitional justice and reconciliation efforts to sustainably shift ownership and  to local organizations

ACHIEVEMENTS

• Strengthened national authorities and international institutions to:

  • design and implement an inclusive national reconciliation strategy

  • guide development of policy and legal frameworks

  • carry out the mandates of the Specialized Transitional Justice Chambers

  • draft legislation to protect victims and witnesses

  • strengthen the Libyan justice system to oversee cases related to transitional justice and contribute to guarantees of non-recurrence

• Increased the skills of CSOs to work with citizens to:

  • increase opportunities for safe, constructive citizen-government interaction to effect community-driven change

  • create networks focusing on victim centered approaches

  • combat hate speech and disinformation and bolster informed citizen engagement

  • advocate for psychosocial support for victims

  • increase access to services for survivors

• Convened pivotal meetings with Libyan Mediators Network and the General Assembly to discuss plans to expand dialogues in the Murzuq basin

• Supported the locally-led reconciliation and justice priorities of Libya’s CSOs through small sub-grants to address specific priorities of marginalized groups