OCHA Libya l Humanitarian Bulletin (April - June 2022) [EN/AR]

Highlights:

• Durable Solutions Strategy for internally displaced people (IDPs): a necessary step towards long-term recovery

• Stockouts of critical vaccines in Libya putting children at risk of preventable diseases / COVID-19 Update

• IOM Displaced Tracking Matrix Round 41 update

• Humanitarian Access update

• WASH sector: status of the Man-Made River Project

• Coordination Activity Report

Durable Solutions Strategy for internally displaced people (IDPs): a necessary step towards long-term recovery

In the aftermath of Libya’s decade-long armed conflict, hundreds of thousands of Libyans were displaced, with political instability and insecurity, as well as the lack of rule of law, preventing internally displaced people (IDPs) to return to their places and communities of origin. Although the security situation improved significantly since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in October 2020 and the subsequent formation of the Government of National Unity (GNU) in March 2021, creating favorable conditions for displaced populations to return, there remain an estimated 160,000 IDPs as identified by IOM's Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM). Since DTM began recording population movements in 2016, a total of 673,554 individuals have returned to their areas of origin, with 98 per cent of the key informants reporting returning due to the improved security situation.

The pace of people returning is slowing, however, as those still displaced face more systemic impediments to return, such as houses damaged due to armed conflict and the lack of access to public services upon return, as well as personal security and social cohesion. Those displaced for a protracted period face uncertainty, with critical protection risks persisting, including an increase in the number of forced evictions. On 2 May 2022, for instance, two IDP settlements in Tripoli, Fallah 1 and Fallah 2, comprising a total of 506 families, were given notice to leave the premises the following day. On 30 May, the Dawaa Eslameya IDP settlement in Tripoli, hosting 113 Tawerghan families, was ordered to vacate the premises, without the provision for an alternative solution addressing their decade-long protracted displacement status. These incidents highlighted once again the need to find a durable solution for IDPs.

The Inter-Agency Standing Committee’s (IASC) Framework on durable solutions for internally displaced persons provides that "a durable solution is achieved when internally displaced persons no longer have any specific assistance and protection needs that are linked to their displacement and can enjoy their human rights without discrimination on account of their displacement.” Securing a truly durable solution is thus a long-term process of gradually diminishing these needs which requires interventions from across the humanitarian, development and peacebuilding spectrum.