Fourteen young men and women from across Libya joined UNSMIL experts from the Ceasefire Monitoring Component on Wednesday in Tripoli to share their ideas and recommendations on how youth can support the implementation of the Ceasefire Agreement in Libya. 

In breakout discussions the participants continually raised the issues of insecurity on both militarily and political fronts, and the impact that this has on the social and economic fabric of the country. They also highlighted that “the implementation of the ceasefire since 2020 had led to a more stable environment, but that peace remains precarious due to the continued political deadlock.” 

“Politicians must work to unify institutions to preserve the unity of the country and avoid divisions through insecurity,” said one participant. “Elections are the only way to solve the crisis, but there is no doubt that the presence of foreign fighters and mercenaries makes this difficult as conflicts will continue to unfold” he added. 

Through discussions in breakout groups, the young men and women in the workshop made the following recommendations:  

• Expedite the unification process of security, military and political institutions. 

• Establish a comprehensive national dialogue with no preconditions to develop a roadmap out of the crisis. 

• Withdraw all foreign fighters and mercenaries from the country. 

• Develop and implement community violence reduction and disarmament demobilization, and reintegration programmes. 

• Integrate Libyan fighters into society through comprehensive training and psychosocial programmes. 

• Strengthen educational and employment opportunities for young people to reduce the appeal of joining armed groups and encourage young people to reintegrate into society. 

• Enhance monitoring of the ceasefire and enforce sanctions for violations. 

• Raise awareness among youth and communities, particularly mothers, about the consequences of youth joining armed groups. 

• Train youth and civil society organisations (CSOs) to be able to support the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in implementing the ceasefire implementation, 

• Build CSOs capacity to enable them to bring communities together through peacebuilding initiatives and civic education. 

• Develop a digital platform where people can report ceasefire violations and help monitor the agreement’s implementation. 

• Work more closely with social media platforms to counter hate speech in Libya and promote awareness raising around the Ceasefire Agreement and preventing hate speech. 

• Support CSOs to implement advocacy campaigns on how to support the ceasefire implementation and report violations. 

• Work with media more closely to reduce mis/disinformation on their platforms and strengthen their knowledge of key topics. 

• Establish an UNSMIL-facilitated advocacy group of youth who can collaboratively work on key issues. 

• Hold cultural festivals and activities in affected communities to bring people together and build trust among different societal groups. 

“Decision-making process in Libya remains exclusive to youth,” said another participant. “This makes it difficult for youth to be heard,” he added urging the international community and youth themselves to take further actions to amplify their voices. 

The economic situation is the problem, stated another. “We need initiatives that tackle unemployment and improve education to make violence and armed groups less appealing.” 

The workshop was one of many being held by UNSMIL as part of its youth programme #YouEngage which will see the Mission engage with 1,000 young men and women from across Libya. The recommendations made by youth across all the workshops will be collated into a report in June 2025 detailing what youth recommend for the future of Libya on different key topics. Previous workshops have covered transitional justice, fostering civic space, climate change and developing inclusive digital spaces.