OCTOBER 2019 From abuse to cohabitation: A way forward for positive migration governance in Libya Floor El Kamouni- Janssen, Nancy Ezzeddine and Jalel Harchaoui DISCLAIMER This publication was produced with the financial support of the European Union. Its contents are the sole responsibility of the Clingendael Institute and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. Contents ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY .......................................................................................................................................................................................................... 3 INTRODUCTION: THE COMPLEXITY OF SUPPORTING LOCAL MIGRATION GOVERNANCE IN LIBYA ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 10 1. STATE AND NON-STATE MIGRATION GOVERNANCE ........................................................................................................................................................ 19 1.1 FORMAL MIGRATION GOVERNANCE – THE STATE .................................................................................. 19 1.2 FORMAL MIGRATION GOVERNANCE – THE MUNICIPALITY ................................ 21 1.2a The Libyan municipality - overburdened and underfunded ............................................................... 21 1.2b The reality of local (migration) governance in Libya .................................................................................................. 26 1.3 CONCLUSION: HOW DO GOVERNANCE ARRANGEMENTS SHAPE LOCAL MIGRATION GOVERNANCE? ..................................................................................................................... 33 2. THE ECONOMIC IMPACT OF MIGRANTS: BURDEN OR BENEFIT? ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 2.1 LIBYA’S ECONOMY AFTER 2011 – THE COLLAPSE OF STATE RENTIERISM ..................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 35 2.2 FINDING ALTERNATIVE LIVELIHOODS ................................................................................................................................................ 41 2.3 THE MIGRANT LABOUR FORCE IN LIBYA: HIGH DEMAND, LIMITED SUPPLY .......................................................................................................................................................................... 48 2.4 CONCLUSION: HOW DO ECONOMIC STRUCTURES IMPACT ECONOMIC OPPORTUNITY AND AGENCY? ........................................................................................................................ 57 3. A WAY FORWARD FOR POSITIVE LOCAL MIGRATION GOVERNANCE IN LIBYA ................................................................................. 59 3.1 OVERALL CONCLUSIONS ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 59 3.2 RECOMMENDATIONS PER MUNICIPALITY ............................................................................................................................. 62 3.3 OVERALL RECOMMENDATIONS .................................................................................................................................................................................... 69 ANNEX: OVERVIEW OF INTERVIEW AND FOCUS GROUP DISCUSSION DATA PER MUNICIPALITY ................... 72 BIBLIOGRAPHY ............................................................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 73 NOTES AND REFERENCES ........................................................................................................................................................................................................................................ 81 ACRONYMS AND ABBREVIATIONS DCIM Department for the Combat of Illegal Migration EU European Union EUDEL Delegation of the European Union to Libya EUTF EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa GDP gross domestic product GNA Government of National Accod INGO international NGO IOM International Organization for Migration LNA Libyan National Army LYD Libyan dinar MoFA Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation MoL Ministry of Labour MoLG Ministry of Local Government MSF Médecins Sans Frontières MTEI Ministry of Trade, Economy and Industry NGO non-governmental organization SLEIDSE Support to Libya for Economic Integration, Diversification and Sustainable Development UNDP United Nations Development Programme UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees WHO World Health Organization From abuse to cohabitation: A way forward for positive migration governance in Libya | October 2019 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS This report could not have been put together without the help of a number of people who graciously shared their time, expertise and networks. The report is part of the research project ‘Monitoring the Political Economy of Human Smuggling in Libya and the Greater Sahara’, which is funded under the North of Africa window of the EU Emergency Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). Thanks to the stakeholders at the European Commission for their facilitation, advice and support. The authors are also grateful to Clingendael colleagues Fransje Molenaar, Al-Hamzeh al-Shadeedi, Mariska van Beijnum, Christopher Abinader and Jalel Harchaoui for their indispensable analytical input and research assistance. In addition, we would like to acknowledge the outstanding research assistance provided by Yas- min Abulkher (of the Netherlands Association for International Affairs). Tihomir Sabchev (Utrecht University) and Eleni Diker (Maastricht University) provided their expert input of best practices in migration governance. Research that examines Libyan local-governance dynamics cannot be carried out without access to Libyan municipalities and without capturing local perspectives and ideas. We owe a debt of gratitude to the group of Libyan researchers who conducted numerous interviews in Ghat, Bani Walid and Zawiya, often in very challenging circumstances. The researchers will remain anonymous for reasons of security – but your contri- bution is greatly appreciated. We also thank Mark Micallef (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime) for kindly extending his field network in Libya to us. Lastly, the report benefited from peer reviews by Timothy Eaton (Chatham House) and Arezo Malakooti (Global Initiative Against Transnational Organized Crime). A third reviewer who asked not to be disclosed also provided excellent feedback. The authors emphasize that the contents of this report, and any errors or omissions, are the sole responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the European Union. From abuse to cohabitation: A way forward for positive migration governance in Libya | October 2019 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Libya has historically been a migrant-receiving country, and migrants form a significant portion of the Libyan workforce. Since the fall of Qaddafi in 2011, however, the situation facing migrants in Libya has deteriorated. Powerful human-smuggling networks have emerged that have taken the exploitation of migrants to gruel- ling new levels. In response to pressure from the European Union and individual European states to contain migration across the Mediterranean, Libyan armed actors are increasingly turning to migrant detention as their main business model. The situation for migrants in Libya continues to deteriorate and the abuses they suffer are rampant. This study therefore investigates what can be done at the local level to promote positive migration gover- nance in Libya. This research question is driven by humanitarian, economic and normative concerns. From a humanitarian point of view, the scale of abuse that migrants face in Libya today requires an urgent inter- national response. From an economic point of view, migrants have historically contributed substantially to the Libyan economy and attempts to improve their position would be likely to result in economic gains for migrant and host communities alike. And from a normative point of view, the international community has a moral obligation to address the negative human-rights consequences of its migration policies. To comprehensively assess what could be done to promote positive migration governance in Libya, this study analyzes migration management in the municipalities of Ghat, Bani Walid and Zawiya. These munic- ipalities are selected as case studies because they are representative