Libya Humanitarian Overview 2023 (December 2022)

Part 1:

HC foreword

As in 2021, the humanitarian situation in Libya in 2022 continued to improve despite the challenging political and security environment. The continued holding of the October 2020 ceasefire agreement contributed to a 58 per cent reduction in the number of IDPs from 316,000 in October 2020 to 134,000 in August 2022, among other indicators of the improved humanitarian situation in the country.

During my field visits across Libya this year, I heard directly from people, communities, and families whose lives remain affected by the protracted political crisis, insecurity, and economic hardship. They seek longer term solutions to strengthen stability and prosperity in their lives so they can send their children to school in a secure environment, find decent employment, and build a better future for their families.

With these families, communities and people top of mind, my work as UN Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator has focused on ensuring that the most vulnerable people who need humanitarian and protection assistance and who are most at risk continue to receive the UN’s support. At the same time, we are working with our partners to support Libya's transition to a more stable and prosperous future through collective work under the new UN Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (2023-2025) to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in Libya.

Our vision and approach are to put people at the center of our interventions, particularly those who are most vulnerable, including internally displaced persons, refugees, and migrants. To this end, we have prioritized the centrality of protection in the transition period which guides delivery of our common vision, coordinated and complementary actions, and mandates across the humanitarian, development, and peace actors to address persistent threats and risks faced by vulnerable groups.
The centrality of protection is further complemented by the Secretary-General's Call to Action on Human Rights which mandates human rights promotion and protection as the foundation of the entire UN system’s work.

In addition to the fragile political and security context in Libya, global shocks, such as impact of the crisis in Ukraine and climate change, are likely to reverberate throughout Libya. As such, our contingency plan aims to address multi-faceted crises from potential conflicts to natural disasters through provision of immediate support to national and local authorities in the event of a new shock and implementation of mitigation measures to reduce vulnerabilities and risks.

I express my sincere thanks and appreciation to the government of Libya, Member States, our generous donors and our civil society partners for their continued support in our collective efforts to build a better future for all vulnerable people in Libya.

Georgette Gagnon
Humanitarian Coordinator
State of Libya