The Indigenous World 2022: Libya

Written on 01 April 2022. Posted in Libya

The Amazigh are the Indigenous population of Libya. They are estimated to number some one million, or more than 16% of the country’s total population.

They live in various areas of Libya in the north, east and south of the country albeit without any geographical continuity. To the west of Tripoli, on the Mediterranean coast, they live in the town of At-Wilul (Zwara) and in the Adrar Infussen (Nefoussa) mountains, on the border with Tunisia; in the south-east, on the border with Egypt, they live in the oases of Awjla, Jalu and Jakhra; in the south, the Fezzan region is traditionally Kel-Tamasheq (Tuareg) territory, including the areas of Murzuq, Sebha, Ubari, Ghat and Ghadamès. Libya’s Kel-Tamasheq are naturally linked to other Kel-Tamasheq communities living across the borders with Niger and Algeria. Tripoli is also home to a significant Amazigh community.

In addition to Arab and Amazigh communities, there is an ethnic minority in Libya known as the Toubou, comprising some 50,000 individuals. They are originally from the Tibesti plateau in Chad and they live along the Libya/Chad border. They live a nomadic way of life and practise pastoralism across an area that extends from northern Niger to Sudan.

During the time of Gaddafi (1969-2011), Libya was declared an exclusively “Arab and Muslim” country. The 1969 Constitutional Proclamation states in its first article that “Libya is an Arab republic (…), the Libyan people are part of the Arab nation and its aim is total Arab unity. The country’s name is the Arab Republic of Libya.” Article Two adds that “Islam is the state religion and Arabic its official language.” Government policy since then has always relentlessly persecuted anyone who does not recognise Libya’s “Arab-Islamic identity”.

Following the 2011 “revolution”, a Provisional Constitutional Council submitted a draft new constitution in 2017 that in no way changed the country’s identitary foundations. Article Two still provides that “Libya forms part of the Arab nation” and that “Arabic is the state language.” Article Six notes that “Islam is the state religion and Sharia the source of its law.” Other discriminatory articles then follow, prohibiting a non-Muslim Libyan from standing for election to the Chamber of Representatives (Article 69) or as President of the Republic (Article 101) and stating that justice shall be passed down “in the name of Allah” (Article 189). These articles are clearly aimed at imposing an Islamic republic, to the detriment of the diversity of cultures and beliefs in Libya. Due to Amazigh and Toubou opposition, however, and also because of the war, this draft constitution has not yet been adopted.

Libya voted in favour of the UN Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.

This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here

Indigenous women's rights

Islamic Sharia, which is the source of law in Libya, places women in a situation of inferiority to men. “The Libyan Criminal Code allows for a reduced sentence for men who kill or injure their wives or other female relatives. Libyan law inadequately prohibits domestic violence, and laws on personal status continue to discriminate against women, particularly in the areas of marriage, divorce, and inheritance.”^[1] Due in part to the dominance of Islamism, both in parliament and in the politico-military movements that have controlled the country since 2011, women are discriminated against both in law and in practice. According to Amnesty International, “Women in Libya face ongoing gender-based discrimination. Libyan marriage, divorce and inheritance laws include provisions that discriminate against women. Women also continue to be discriminated against when they want to pass on their nationality to their spouses or children.”^[2]

The particular situation of Indigenous women or women belonging to ethnic minorities in Libya (Toubou, Amazigh) is worse than that of Arab women because they also suffer the effects of a negation of their communities and a marginalisation of their territories. 

A year of calm albeit precarious

After a decade of civil war, with no winners and no losers but with much human damage (thousands of dead, wounded and displaced) and destruction of infrastructure (public buildings, homes, roads...), the noise of the weapons abated and Libya returned to calm in 2021. Negotiations between the two main blocs, one controlling the west of the country (based in Tripoli) and the other the east (based in Benghazi), resulted in an agreement that scheduled parliamentary and presidential elections for December 2021. At the last moment, however, these elections did not take place because of deep disagreements over the electoral law and the list of eligible candidates.

In addition, the two governing bodies, on the one hand the parliament elected in 2014, based in Benghazi and, on the other, the Supreme Council of the Libyan State (transformed in March 2021 into an interim government based in Tripoli), had agreed in January 2021 to draw up a draft constitution and have it adopted by referendum on 24 September of that year. This referendum could not be held, however. The reason was that the authorities in Benghazi were proposing a new constitution prepared by a committee of parliamentarians and experts while the authorities in Tripoli want to adopt the draft constitution produced in 2017 but which could not be adopted. The constitutional project is thus another subject of discord between the two main Libyan stakeholders.^[3]

As a result, Libya is still very much divided and the spectre of civil war is ever present. According to observers of the situation in Libya, “The fear of a new armed conflict remains high. The tense political situation has already begun to cause stirrings in Tripoli. As with every major political event, the militias are on the march. Misrati battalions were called in as reinforcements by the Turkish-backed camp of Abdulhamid Dabaiba (Prime Minister of the interim government). In response, several Tripoli-based armed groups, including the powerful Ghnewa katiba and the Al-Zawiya militias, have joined forces to block the routes south of Tripoli.”^[4]

The failure of political initiatives, such as the holding of elections for the adoption of the constitution, the designation of the future parliament or the President of the Republic, is mainly due to the lack of reconciliation between the parties, who have been at war with each other for 10 years. The country is still divided and dominated by two major camps (one controlling the east and the other the west of the country), each with its own government, parliament and army. Under these conditions, it is not possible in the short-term to envisage setting up institutions that would be recognised and respected by all. In November 2021, Abdullah Al-Lafi, member of the Libyan Presidential Council, stressed the need to “continue on the path of inclusive national reconciliation, in which all Libyans must participate, without exclusion or exclusivity, and to demand accountability in order to build a lasting reconciliation and stability. Truth, forgiveness, trust and a conviction of the need to live together, in a spirit of tolerance and coexistence, are necessary conditions for a return to peace and stability in the country but these conditions are not currently met in Libya.”^[5]

Libya's Indigenous people reject draft constitution

The Amazigh and Toubou have regularly and publicly expressed their rejection of Libya's draft constitution since it was made public in 2017. On 28 January 2021, the municipal leaders, the Supreme Council of Amazigh and the leaders of the civil society organisations in Libya’s Amazigh territories met in the city of Jadu (150 km south-west of Tripoli) to express their rejection of the draft constitution once more and to announce a boycott of any constitutional referendum if the draft constitution remained unchanged.^[6] The Amazigh and Toubou are firstly criticising the Libyan authorities for not involving them in the drafting of the constitutional text and secondly rejecting the text because it bases Libya’s identity on the supremacy of the Arab-Islamic language and culture and relegates the Amazigh and Toubou components to an inferior position. It is therefore a project based on racial discrimination, in flagrant violation of international law and democratic principles. Article 2 recognises that “The Arabic, Amazigh and Toubou languages are part of the cultural and linguistic heritage of all Libyans” but specifies that “Libya forms part of the Arab nation” and that “Arabic is the State language”. The text adds that “the law shall organise the integration of other Libyan languages into the fields of general life at the local and national levels.” It is therefore clear that the position of the Arabic language and culture is privileged to the detriment of the Amazigh and Toubou languages and cultures. Moreover, Article 6 notes that “Islam is the religion of the State and Islamic Shari’a is the source of law.” This is followed by other discriminatory articles that prohibit a non-Muslim Libyan from running for the House of Representatives (Article 69) or the Presidency of the Republic (Article 101) and which decree that justice is dispensed “in the name of Allah” (Article 189). These articles are clearly intended to impose an Islamic republic, in defiance of the diversity of cultures and beliefs in Libya.

Discrimination with no prospect of a solution

In the south of the country, the Kel-Tamasheq (Tuareg) suffer specific discrimination dating back to the time of Gaddafi, when the administration refused to grant Libyan nationality to more than 20,000 families from this region. After the 2011 “revolution”, the government introduced a national identity number for all Libyans;^[7] however, more than 80,000 people from the Kel-Tamasheq (Tuareg) community never received one. As a result, these “undocumented” people cannot obtain an identity document and thus clearly cannot access school, public health services or any other public service, nor can they be employed. The demands they have regularly made to the Libyan administration since 2011 have not been successful.

The Fezzan region (south and south-west of Libya), traditional territory of the Kel-Tamasheq, is rich in mineral resources, particularly oil. And yet the local people are the poorest in the country because they are deprived of the income that is generated from these resources, which are exploited with the help of foreign companies. The only “job” offers available to young Kel-Tamasheq are to sign up as a soldier in one of the armed groups that control the country.

The Kel-Tamasheq community that lives near the border with Algeria has also suffered the closure of this border by Algeria, citing security reasons. This seriously deprives the local population of the traditional exchanges they have always had with each other. The consequences can be dramatic when people cannot obtain medicine or food from across the border.

Non-Arab communities in Libya have been excluded from all political meetings within the context of the national peace dialogue. This remained the case for the most recent meetings held during 2021, both in Europe and in the Middle East (Qatar, Oman and Hurghada in Egypt). As a result, these communities are increasingly expressing their desire for a federal state in which their territories would enjoy an autonomy that would allow them to preserve their specific features. This could be an alternative that would preserve the diversity and freedoms of each component of the country. This wish was clearly expressed at the conference of Amazigh municipalities on 28 January 2021 in the city of Jadu. The president of this conference and leader of Jadu municipality said that: “The decision has been taken to create a fourth administrative region” covering the Amazigh territories.^[8] The next few years will tell whether this decision can be implemented.

Meanwhile, with two governments and at least two armies, no constitution and no legitimate legislative bodies, Libya is still in chaos and its future a cause for concern.

Belkacem Lounes holds a PhD in Economics and Social Sciences, is a university  professor (Grenoble Alpes University), expert member of the Working Group on Indigenous Populations/Communities and Minorites in Africa  of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights, member of the UN Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples, and author of numerous reports and articles on Amazigh and  Indigenous Peoples’rights.

This article is part of the 36th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of Indigenous Women standing up and taking the lead in the land rights struggle of their community in Jharkhand, India. This photo was taken by Signe Leth, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2022 where the article is featured. Find The Indigenous World 2022 in full here

Notes and references

^[1] Human Rights Watch. “Libya. Events of 2016.”  https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2017/country-chapters/libya

^[2] Amnesty International. “Libye: les défenseures des droits humains prises pour cible.” [Libya: women human rights defenders targeted]. Amnesty International, July 17, 2018. https://www.amnesty.be/infos/actualites/article/libye-les-defenseures-des-droits-humains-prises-pour-cible

^[3] Radio France internationale (RFI). “La Libye à la recherche d’une nouvelle Constitution.” [Libya in search of a new constitution]. RFI, January 26, 2022. https://www.rfi.fr/fr/afrique/20220126-la-libye-%C3%A0-la-recherche-d-une-nouvelle-constitution

^[4] Vernhes, Sarah. “Libye: le spectre d’un nouveau conflit après le report de la présidentielle.” [Libya: the spectre of a new conflict after postponement of presidential elections]. Jeune Afrique, December 22, /2021. https://www.jeuneafrique.com/1285487/politique/libye-le-spectre-dun-nouveau-conflit-apres-le-report-de-la-presidentielle/

^[5] Anadolu Agency (AA). “Libye: des élections sans réconciliation ou le saut vers l’inconnu (Analyse).” [Libya: Elections without reconciliation or a leap into the unknown (Analysis)]. AA, January 1, 2022.

https://www.aa.com.tr/fr/politique/libye-des-%C3%A9lections-sans-r%C3%A9conciliation-ou-le-saut-vers-linconnu-analyse/2462758

^[6] Tamazgha. “Les Amazighs de Libye déterminés.” [The Amazigh of Libya are determined… They don't let go!]. Tamazgha, January 31, 2021. http://tamazgha.fr/Les-Amazighs-de-Libye-determines.html

^[7] Law 8 - 2014, Article 7: “All ministries and administrative units of the government and institutions, civil and military bodies, public companies and the like shall use the national number assigned to each Libyan citizen in the payment of all salaries and remuneration of all administrative, financial and economic procedures related to the Libyan state. All the parties mentioned shall suspend the salary, bonus or financial entitlement of any Libyan citizen in case he fails to submit the national number assigned to him. The aforementioned parties shall not complete any financial, administrative or economic activities for any Libyan citizen except by the national number.”

^[8] Tamazgha. “Les Amazighs de Libye déterminés… Ils ne lâchent rien!” Tamazgha, January 31, 2021. http://tamazgha.fr/Les-Amazighs-de-Libye-determines.html. Abdelwahab Hajam, President of Jadu municipality, Libya, interview conducted by the site Tamazgha on January 28, 2021.  The other three major Libyan regions are Cyrenaica in the east, Tripolitania in the north-west and Fezzan in the south-west.