The Libyan National Security Council, stated that “any projects that could potentially affect national security, especially regarding immigration issues, will be rejected.”
The council stressed the “importance of all foreign organisations operating in Libya according to local laws, and completing the required registration processes” in a statement released on Wednesday.
The announcement came in response to a campaign by Italian organisations in Libya aiming to “enhance employment opportunities and better working conditions of full-time and seasonal migrant and local workers in Sebha, Murzuq, Ghat, and Wadi Al-Hayaa districts of the Fezzan region.”
The two-year project will be carried out by the Italian intergovernmental organisation, CIHEAM Bari. According to its website the project has received €5 million euros in funding from the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Directorate General for Italians Abroad and Migration Policies (MAECI – DGIT), through the Migration Fund.
These projects intend to aid in the development of several local sectors in Libya, and were warmly welcomed by the council. However, it vehemently rejected initiatives that “could have negative effects on national security, and the social peace of Libya, such as immigration and illegal immigration.”
The council called for “all Libyan institutions, ministries, and sectors to unite and prevent projects that could tamper with the capabilities of the Libyan people, harm national security, and jeopardise social peace.”
It also emphasised how “crucial it was to get the required approvals from the relevant authorities, in particular the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, before accepting any invitations to take part in such projects from foreign nations or organisations, whether they were inside or outside of Libya.”
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who is leading the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
