Libya

The popular uprisings at the beginning of 2011 in Tunisia and Egypt also spread to Libya. To protect the civilian population the international community decided on military intervention. Although the rebelvictory led to the liberation of Libya, the country still faces a long period of transition to democracy. In addition, large sections of the country are strewn with unexploded remnants of war, which frequently cause deaths and injuries.

To ensure the most favourable conditions possible for the success of a transition towards democracy in North Africa, the Federal Council responded quickly and decided on 11 March 2011 to substantially increase Switzerland's medium-term commitment in this region. The Swiss programme for North Africa for the period 2011–2016 responds to the priorities on the ground and focuses on three main areas:

transition towards democracy and human rights
economic development and employment
migration and protection.

In addition, in 2011–2012 Switzerlandalso provided humanitarian assistance to help ease the crisis in Libya.

Swiss International Cooperation	2011 mill. CHF	2012 mill. CHF	2013* mill. CHF

SDC
Bilateral development cooperation	–	0.69	0.90
Humanitarian aid	4.09	1.15	0.20
State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO)
Economic Cooperation and Development	–	–	–
Total SDC/SECO	4.09	1.84	1.10

Other Federal Offices
FDFA Human Security Division and Directorate of International Law	0.23	1.15	1.38
Total other Federal Offices	0.23	1.15	1.38

Cantons and municipalities	0.25	..	..

Total	4.57	2.99	2.48

* planned; total based on available data
SDC figures excluding program contributions to NGOs
.. = figures not available | – = nil or amount < 5'000 CHF

Switzerland's commitment

The Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation (SDC) in the FDFA together with the Federal Office of Migration (FOM) in the FDJP are currently evaluating the possibilities available for conducting activities within Libya. The FDFA’s Directorate of Political Affairs (PD) has already decided to support the political transition towards democracy in close coordination with the United Nations Special Mission in Libya. The State Secretariat for Economic Affairs (SECO) has no plans for any commitment in Libya.

Any activities that Switzerland carries out in Libya will be implemented in a coordinated, coherent and complementary fashion by the different Swiss actors. Switzerland’s support is based on partnerships targeted to provide sustainable solutions to identified local needs. Equal treatment of men and women is an important principle that is taken into account in all projects.

The Swiss embassy in Tripoli, was reopened in October 2011, and was reinforced by a human security councillor in January 2012. In all probability this will be further supplemented by an SDC representative in November 2012.

Operational activities are currently as follows (as of October 2012):

Transition towards democracy and human rights

Contribution to the UNDP programme to support democratic elections in Libya, in addition to support for election monitoring – SDC
Support for activities undertaken as part of the Libyan Regional Programme run by the «International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance» (IDEA), an independent and globally renowned centre of excellence – SDC
Support for the establishment of a regional office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (UNHCR) – SDC and PD
Evaluation of possible activities in Libya in connection with reform of the security sector in partnership with the Centre for the Democratic Control of the Armed Forces (DCAF) in Geneva – SDC
Specific project
Support for de-mining operations consisting of the removal and elimination of antipersonnel mines, cluster bombs and of all unexploded remnants of war, securing weapon stockpiles and preventative work to raise public awareness (de-mining service of the Mine Action Service of the United Nations (UNMAS) and Mine Advisory Group) – PD
Specific project
Raising awareness and providing training for key actors in civil society in the area of mediation – PD
Training in the area of human rights for civil society and state actors
Support in dealing with the past and in the area of transitional justice for civil society and state actors – PD

Economic development and employment

No support activities are foreseen in this area; however, regional programmes may include such activities in Libya. For example:

Regional programme for the development of financial products and services for marginalised sections of the population – SDC

Migration and protection

Financial support for UNHCR and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) for the repatriation of citizens who fled from Libya in the wake of the conflict – FOM and SDC
Specific project
Deployment of a Protection Officer to the UNHCR Libya to help improve protection for vulnerable sections of the population – SDC
Additional multilateral and regional projects that could also include activities in Libya are currently under consideration – FOM and SDC

Information on Libya

Facts and figures

	Surface area
	Population
	Annual population growth rate (since 1990)
	Life expectancy at birth women / men
	Adult illiteracy rate: women / men
	Gross Domestic Product GDP per capita
	Percentage of population with less than 2 USD per day

1'759'540

6.423

1.1

77.6 / 72.4

17.3 / 4.4

9'957.5

km2

mill.

years

USD

Source: World Bank's World Development Indicators 2013

Local SDC contact address:

Libya (Tripoli)
Embassy of Switzerland P.O. Box 439 El Moussawer Ben Maghzama Street Bederi Area off Ben Ashour Street Tripoli 10 - Libya
Phone	+218 (0)21 361 41 18
Email	tri.vertretung@eda.admin.ch

Additional Information and Documents

Here, you will find more publications, links, documents and articles about Swiss development cooperation and humanitarian aid in this country.