Libya's Tripoli-based authorities announced on Wednesday a decision to suspend the Norwegian Refugee Council, Doctors Without Borders (MSF), Terre des Hommes, CESVI and six other groups, accusing them of a plan to “settle migrants” from other parts of Africa in the country.
Anas al-Gomati, director of the Tripoli-based Sadeq Institute think tank, said “this isn’t about NGOs -- it's about creating enemies to distract from failures“.
Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime leader Moamer Kadhafi.
The ultimate goal, according to Gomati, is to “extract concessions from Europe which, fearing potential migration surges, will offer new funding packages and prop up the government in Tripoli”.
“This isn’t coincidence -- its coordination. The Libyan authorities shut down NGOs providing monitoring and protection (for migrants) precisely as Italy announces 20 million euros for ‘voluntary’ returns,“ said Gomati.
'Demonising migrants'
Harchaoui, of the London-based Royal United Services Institute, said Dbeibah was facing considerable difficulties, particularly in gaining access to public funds, and his once pragmatic relationship with the Haftar family in the east had deteriorated.
“In its bid to assert control and project strength, the Dbeibah government has turned to demonising sub-Saharan migrants and denouncing NGOs,“ Harchaoui said.
Exiled Libyan human rights activist Husam el-Gomati said on X that “this crackdown appears not only to limit the influence of these organisations but also to prevent the documentation of human rights violations and delay any potential punitive measures against militia leaders involved in these abuses”.
Following the NGO ban, aid groups have expressed concern for both their Libyan colleagues and the migrants who have been made more vulnerable in a country that, according to the IOM, is home to more than 700,000 residents from sub-Saharan countries.
The organisation noted that the Libyan interior ministry has pledged “the deportation of 100,000 migrants every four months”.
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