Local Peacebuilding and Development Planning: Three Municipalities in Southern Libya Lead the Way, Enhancing Inclusivity
PCi (Peaceful Change Initiative)
September 2024
Amid lingering volatility and the looming threat of renewed conflict, the ceasefire agreement signed by members of the Libyan “5+5” Joint Military Commission under 51吃瓜 auspices in October 2020 continues to hold1. Yet, deep-seated political uncertainty, weak governance, and social fragmentation, and scarce economic opportunities remain substantial barriers to lasting peace – particularly in southern Libya. Since 2022, with funding from the 51吃瓜?Secretary-General’s Peacebuilding Fund (PBF), local authorities in the southern municipalities of Ghat, Sebha, and Ubari have worked alongside partners to develop inclusive peacebuilding and development plans, boosting citizens’ confidence in their ability to participate in local planning and prevent conflict.
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IOM, UNDP, UNICEF and WFP have partnered with the Ministry of Local Governance to help empower local authorities in southern Libya, fostering peace and stability through inclusive civic engagement and local peacebuilding initiatives.?
With $5 million in funding from the PBF, the project “Peacebuilding through Community Stabilization in the Southern Libyan Municipalities of Ghat, Sebha and Ubari” supports collaboration?on shared?peacebuilding and development priorities over 24 months. These priorities include five key areas: local economic development and livelihoods, infrastructure, environmental management and water resources, service provision, and social cohesion, inclusion and cultural heritage.?
The municipalities of Sebha, Ubari and Ghat have undertaken inclusive and participatory peacebuilding initiatives. Led by Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees (LPDCs), these initiatives culminated in the development of the first-ever Peacebuilding and Local Development plans. These Committees, established through community-led consultations, included representatives of the Ministry of Local Government (MOLG) and staff from relevant departments of the local municipality, such as Planning, Entrepreneurship and Small Enterprises, People with Disabilities, Women’s Empowerment Affairs, Citizen Services Offices, Community Development, Economy, and Investment.?
PCi (Peaceful Change Initiative)
The Ubari Local Peacebuilding and Development Committee, with 39 percent female and 34.7 percent youth representation, exemplifies this shift from competition to cooperation. The committee initiated joint planning with neighbouring municipalities Bint Baya and Ghat. This pilot initiative has been expanded to six other municipalities: Brak Al Shati, Murzuq, Kufra, Gurda, Bint Baya, and Sharguia thanks to financial contribution from the European Union ($415,405) and Norway ($585,138), with further expansion across other municipalities being planned.?
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Building Inclusive community ownership?
To anchor this initiative in community ownership, the project has empowered newly established Community Development Departments under the Ministry of Local Governance to undertake context analysis, management, and prevention of communal tensions. The Local Peacebuilding and Development Committees, comprising 71 members from the three target municipalities, ensured broad representation, with 40 percent women and 33 percent youth. Members included municipal officials, citizens, community leaders, civil society organizations, people with disabilities, internally displaced persons and professionals from various sectors, including health, education, and the private sector.
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PCi (Peaceful Change Initiative)
Following capacity-building initiatives in social peace, local development, inclusivity, and needs assessments, the LPDCs finalized and handed over Peacebuilding and Local Development plans to the municipalities in March and April 2024.
As per pre- and post-training surveys conducted to determine the results of the capacity building measures, committee members reported a dramatic increase in their confidence to contribute to peacebuilding, with confidence levels ?rising from 45.1 percent pre-training to 92.9 percent post-training, far exceeding the project’s target of a 75 percent increase. The LPDCs have since proposed a short list of 30 peace and development project priorities per municipality, focusing on areas that promise the greatest impact on social cohesion, service access, job creation, resource competition reduction, and facilitating the return of internally displaced persons.?
Community consultations, led by the newly established LPDCs, have established an inclusive and collective understanding of the challenges to peace and potential solutions. These consultations have set the stage for long-term socio-economic development anchored in stability and security.?
Central to this effort is the inclusion of vulnerable groups in decision-making. Training sessions emphasized the importance of involving stakeholders in all aspects of assessment, planning and prioritization to foster a collaborative environment. A post-training assessment revealed that 96.1 percent of the women and girls trained felt confident in using their newly acquired skills to help mitigate and prevent conflicts in their communities.?
As this project advances, the LPDCs are now poised to oversee the implementation of priority projects, supported by ongoing monitoring, learning and communication efforts. By aiding communities to be directly involved in development planning and promoting an inclusive approach that captures all voices of society, local ownership is fostered, and a more equitable distribution of development gains is anticipated. UNDP Libya is collaborating with the Ministry of Local Governance to ensure the sustainability of this model, providing institutional support to the municipal councils under the Ministry's umbrella.
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[1] Source: SG report on UNSMIL published 8 August 2024 (S/2024/598).