Libya: Humanitarian Access Snapshot (October to December 2022)

OVERVIEW

The total number of access constraints reported by humanitarian partners has decreased by almost 42% in comparison with the third quarter of 2022.

On the contrary, the severity of bureaucratic and administrative impediments has increased significantly during the last quarter of 2022. The lack of a solution for the issue of registration of INGOs in the West exacerbated by the expiry of visas for a considerable number of international staff led to multiple work disruptions. Advocacy with the authorities is urgently needed to resolve these two issues.

The persistent impact of financial restrictions continues to hamper humanitarian activities. Humanitarian partners have encountered increased difficulties with making international financial transfers into Libya, opening accounts at the local commercial banks as well as limits imposed on the cash withdrawal. Creating a huge strain on financial agility and capacity of organizations to sustain operations is leading to delays in programs and projects and thus affecting the humanitarian actors’ reputation/ acceptance among beneficiaries.

For the first time since the launch of the Access Monitoring and Reporting Framework in March 2020, interferences in the implementation of humanitarian activities were the most reported category of access constraints with 38 per cent. These included interferences during implementations, requests to relocate staff to different locations, interventions and violence against humanitarian personnel and attempts to take an active role in implementing activities at the local level. Authorities are called upon to promote a safe operational environment that is conducive to an effective humanitarian action.

On the positive side, access to the South has improved significantly after the DSRSG/RC/HC’s mission in November and the meetings held with the authorities in the region. Humanitarian notifications of overland movements were smoothly processed, and partners had a constant access to the whole southern region with no major issues.