Libya: Civil Registry Authority (CRA), including current areas of operation and leadership; types of documents produced by the registry, including ability to access the documents; service levels, disruptions and attacks (November 2015 - November 2016)

Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Ottawa

1. Civil Registry Documents and Access

The Libya Herald, a Libya-based news website, describes the CRA as "Libya's registry of families, marriages, births, deaths, passports etc." (Libya Herald 10 Oct. 2016). In correspondence with the Research Directorate, a representative of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who provided information based on data collected by staff in Libya for the purpose of this Response, indicated that the CRA works to register the civil status of Libyan citizens and issues the following documents:

Birth certificate for citizens / for foreigners

Death certificate for citizens / for foreigners

Marriage certificate for citizens / for foreigners

Divorce certificate for citizens / for foreigners

Widowed certificate for citizens / for foreigners

Family book for citizens

Civil status form number 13 [which] contains all the civil information related to the citizen. (IOM 2 Dec. 2016).

A 2014 report published by the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs and written by country analysts from Belgium, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden, stated that each municipality has a civil registration office where "birth, marriage, divorce and death must be registered" (The Netherlands et al. 19 Dec. 2014, 10). The Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs report further cites two Libya Herald articles as stating that there are approximately 400 CRA offices across Libya (Libya Herald qtd in the Netherlands et al. 19 Dec. 2014, 10). According to the IOM representative, without providing details and based on the information collected from IOM contacts in Libya, "the civil registration department is fully functioning in all of Libya and their main office is in Tripoli" (IOM 2 Dec. 2016). An October 2016 Libya Herald article states that the CRA headquarters is located in the Drebi area of Tripoli (Libya Herald 10 Oct. 2016).

A 2015 article published by the Libya News Agency (LANA), Libya's national state news agency (AFP 11 Feb. 2014), reports that the CRA announced that it was opening offices for national number services [1] in neighbouring countries in collaboration with Libyan embassies, in order to better serve Libyans abroad, beginning with Tunisia as of 15 February 2015 (LANA 8 Feb. 2015) Further and corroborating information about access to the documents issued by the CRA, or CRA offices abroad could not be found among the sources consulted by this Response.

2. Control and Operations

The information provided by the IOM representative indicates that the civil registry is an administratively and financially independent department that is "technically" under the Ministry of Interior (IOM 2 Dec. 2016). Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

The Libya Herald states that "the CRA has … been very much at the centre of multiple kidnappings as it has got itself unintentionally but … inextricably embroiled in Libya's political split and polarization since the militia coup in Tripoli in the summer of 2014" (Libya Herald 10 Oct. 2016). The same source indicates that a dispute broke out between the CRA's management and the "internationally unrecognized Salvation Government [2] in Tripoli" over the independence of the civil registry database [3] (ibid.). The source further explains that the dispute arose because "CRA staff accused the Salvation Government of wanting to politicise the [civil registry] system" (ibid.). In June 2016, the Libya Herald reported that Eastern and Western Libyan authorities did not trust each other to physically control the CRA database, because they are "politically, and at times, militarily at war with each other" (ibid. 2 June 2016). According to the same article, Western authorities refused to use the database unless it was under their control, while Eastern authorities did not trust the Western authorities to control it as they feared that they would "politically misuse or alter" the database (ibid.). The Libya Herald also notes that in June 2016, the CRA database was moved to an unnamed "neutral location" accessible to both sides, as a compromise (ibid.). Further and corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

2.1 Leadership

Information about the leadership of the CRA was scarce among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response. Media sources indicate that the following individuals occupy leadership roles within the CRA:

Abdelgader Alsaity, deputy head (Libya Herald 23 Sept. 2016);

Ibrahim Al-Fallag, chairman (Libya Observer 13 March 2016);

Mohamed Buker [Boker], "head" (Libya Herald 10 Oct. 2016) or "dismissed chairman of the CRA" who was reportedly dismissed by the Salvation Government over alleged corruption and forgery cases, as well as for establishing "secret contacts" with the Eastern Government (Libya Observer 13 March 2016);

Siddiq Al-Nahaisi, acting head of the Tripoli-based CRA (Libya Herald 10 Oct. 2016), or head of the CRA (Libyan Express 11 Oct. 2016).

Corroborating information could not be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

3. Service Levels, Disruptions and Attacks

In March 2016, the Libya Observer, a Tripoli-based online news source, cites the head of the CRA as stating that the website of the CRA was attacked by hackers, "forcing the engineers to bring down the entire database" in order to protect it, which caused "a disruption in services" (Libya Observer 13 March 2016). The Libya Herald cites the CRA as "revealing" that it "had been forcibly taken over by 'ideologically extremist groups' who had taken control of its database of Libyan citizens which would have 'enabled them to control the affairs of Libyans and the manipulation of their identities for their own identities'" (Libya Herald 23 Sept. 2016). However, the Libyan Observer reports that this statement came from a Facebook post by the dismissed former chairman of the CRA (Libya Observer 13 Mar. 2016). The same source cites a CRA engineer as stating that "no armed groups attacked the [CRA; this] was only a failed cyber attack by hackers" (ibid.).

In May 2016, the CRA in the western region "rejected the decision of the Interior Ministry of the Salvation Government related to forming a committee to reactivate the civil registration system" (Libya Observer 10 May 2016). According to the same source, the CRAs southern branch also rejected the government's order, and that Jalu city's civil registry in the east refused to deal with the Interior Ministry committee (ibid.).

In June 2016, the Tripoli-based CRA announced that it had resumed services, which had been suspended since March 2016 as the result of the dispute over who controlled the database, which had forced the Tripoli-based CRA to "revert to paper based services" (Libya Herald 2 June 2016).

In September 2016, after two CRA engineers were kidnapped in the Sug il Juma [Sooq al Jomoa] area of Tripoli (Libya Herald 23 September 2016; Libyan Express 22 Sept. 2016), the CRA announced in a statement, that it was "shutting [down] all of its bureaus" (ibid.) or that it was suspending all work in the "west, east and south of Libya," until the employees were released (Libya Herald 23 September 2016). The Libya Herald notes that the CRA complained of "continuing kidnappings, forced arrests, and assaults" against its employees (ibid.).

In October 2016, an armed group attacked the CRA headquarters in Tripoli, killing the head of the CRA, Siddiq Al-Nahaisi (ibid. 12 Oct. 2016; Libyan Express 11 Oct. 2016), and leading key officials to go on strike in reaction to his killing (Libya Herald 12 Oct. 2016).

Further and corroborating information about service levels disruptions, and attacks could not be found among the sources consulted by the research Directorate within the time constraints of this Response.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim for refugee protection. Please find below the list of sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

Notes

[1] For further information on National Identity Numbers in Libya, see Response to Information Request LBY104666 of November 2013.

[2] According to the European Council of Foreign Relations (ECFR), a pan-European think tank on European foreign policy that receives funding from "charitable foundations, national governments, companies, and private individuals" (ECFR n.d.), the Salvation Government [Government of National Salvation] is one of the three rival governments operating in Libya in 2016 (ibid. 19 May 2016). The Salvation Government is based on the parliament originally elected in 2012, and is located in Tripoli, but "no longer controls any relevant institutions" (ibid.). The second government is the Presidential Council, which was created in December 2015 as a result of a UN-brokered agreement (ibid.). It is the internationally recognized Libyan government that presides over the Government of National Accord (GNA) and it is located at a naval base in Tripoli (ibid.). The third "power center" is made up of authorities based in Tobruk and al-Bayda, in the East of Libya, and is supposed to concede power to the GNA, but has not done so (ibid.). It was the internationally recognized government until the creation of the Presidential Council (ibid.).

[3] The 2014 Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs report states that two Libya Herald articles indicate that the Libyan Government announced it completed a new national database, the National Identity Number System (NID), in February 2013, and that all civil registry offices in the country were "interlinked by computer" (The Libya Herald qtd in the Netherlands et al. 19 Dec. 2014, 9-10). The same source indicates that civil registry records are in a "bad state" and "are known to consist of many unauthenticated family books and records" (ibid.).

References

Agence France-Presse (AFP). 14 February 2014. "Gunmen Abduct Libya State News Agency Journalist." [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016]

European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). 19 May 2016. Mattia Toaldo and Mary Fitzgerald. A Quick Guide To Libya's Main Players. [Accessed 1 Dec. 2016]

European Council on Foreign Relations (ECFR). N.d. "About the European Council on Foreign Relations." [Accessed 1 Dec. 2016]

International Organization for Migration (IOM). 2 December 2016. Correspondence with the Research Directorate.

Libyan News Agency (LANA). 8 February 2015. "Civil Registry Opens Offices in Neighbouring Countries to Offer National Number Services." [Accessed 16 Nov. 2016]

Libya Herald. 12 October 2016. "Database Chief Dies of Wounds After Attack." [Accessed 9 Dec. 2016]

Libya Herald. 10 October 2016. Sami Zaptia. "Assassination Attempt on Tripoli Civil Registry Authority Acting Head."

Libya Herald. 23 September 2016. Sami Zaptia. "Civil Registry Authority to Strike in Protest at Kidnap of Employees." [Access 30 Nov. 2016]

Libya Herald. 2 June 2016. "Civil Registry Authority Back Working in Tripoli After Technical Compromise." [Accessed 30 Nov. 2016]

Libya Observer. 10 May 2016. "Civil Registry Authority Rejects Salvation Government's Order to Activate the Civil Registration System." [Accessed 16 Nov. 2016]

Libya Observer. 13 March 2016. "Hackers Attack Libya's Civil Registry Database." [Accessed 16 Nov. 2016]

Libyan Express. 11 October 2016. "Head of Libyan Civil Registry Authority Killed in Armed Attack." [Accessed 16 Nov. 2016]

Libyan Express. 22 September 2016. "Civil Registry Shuts All Bureaus Across Libya Over Kidnap Acts in Tripoli." [Accessed 16 Nov. 2016]

The Netherlands, Belgium, Norway, Sweden. 19 December 2014. Immigration and Naturalisation Service, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, LandInfo, Swedish Migration Agency. Libya: Nationality, Registration and Documents. [Accessed 1 Dec. 2016]

Additional Sources Consulted

Oral sources: Canada - Embassy to Libya based in Tunis; Lawyers for Justice in Libya; Libya - Civil Registration Authority, Embassy in Ottawa; UN - High Commissioner for Refugees, Population Fund.

Internet sites, including: BBC; Canada - Embassy in Tunis; ecoi.net; Factiva; Libya - Civil Registry Authority, Embassy in Ottawa, General Information Authority; Marsad Libya; Observatorio Político y Electoral del Mundo Árabe y Musulmán; UN - High Commissioner for Refugees, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Refworld; The Tripoli Post; US - Department of State, Embassy in Tripoli.