US Strategy to Prevent Conflict and Promote Stability Ten-Year Strategic Plan for Libya

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The United States is committed to assisting Libyans in their continued struggle for a more peaceful, stable, and united future. Since the fall of the Gaddafi regime in 2011, Libya faced division and violent conflict. A nationwide ceasefire agreement in October 2020 brought the fighting to a halt. Creating space for the UN-facilitated Libyan political dialogue forum to select a new unified interim government and produce a political roadmap for holding national elections. And while the roadmap has stalled since then and tensions between militias have increased around Tripoli, U.S. and international partners are actively engaged in the diplomatic arena to help Libya take concrete steps toward a unified government, inclusive and democratic governance, and political stability. external actors communicate, including Russia, Exploiting the unstable situation in Libya, This poses a threat to the southern wing of NATO and further destabilizes the Sahel region. Southern Libya is of particular interest as malign actors exploit fragile local governance systems to seek safe havens for terrorist and illegal activities.

President Biden announced in April 2022 that the United States will prioritize work and partnerships with Libya as part of the United States’ strategy to prevent conflict and promote stability. While Libya was originally chosen in the hope of benefiting from a nationwide ceasefire and political roadmap led by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, The U.S. Strategy for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization continues to provide a useful impetus to redirect U.S. support to enhance ongoing diplomatic efforts and catalyze Libya’s progress toward a unified, democratically elected government. The United States Government is using the US Strategy for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization Focus on Libya to call on domestic stakeholders, interagency partners, and international partners to develop concrete steps to create the conditions for long-term peace and stability in Libya—building on identified resilience and promising initiatives. Furthermore it, This plan supports an integrated, transregional approach to the United States Government’s prevention efforts across the Sahel, Morocco, and coastal West Africa by promoting a more stable, peaceful, and prosperous Libya.

The US Foreign Office for Libya and interagency partners developed this Strategic Framework and Strategic Plan through rigorous analysis and extensive consultations with a range of bilateral and multilateral counterparts, who will act as important partners in its implementation. These discussions identified areas of mutual interest and potential cooperation. For example with the African Union on national reconciliation, and the United Nations and the European Union on demobilization, disarmament and reintegration. The team also involved more than thirty-five civil society organizations, who provided valuable and practical observations on areas of subnational partnership amidst the ongoing transformation of Libya. Continuous and iterative multi-stakeholder engagement is central to this plan.

The plan directs U.S. efforts toward the U.S. long-term political goal of a Libya “ governed by a democratically elected, unified, representative, internationally recognized and able to guarantee human rights, the provision of public services, and promoting inclusive and sustainable economic growth, and secure its borders, and creating a partnership with the United States and the international community on shared priorities .” However, The plan recognizes the need for a gradual, tailored, and scalable approach given the current political uncertainty at the national level and the practical limitations on U.S. engagement and assistance inside Libya. In the short term, the plan focuses on a “grassroots” local approach to support citizen-responsive, democratic local governance and emerging but promising reconciliation initiatives spearheaded at the local level. Southern Libya is the focal point of an initial sequential effort gradually building towards progress in all three major regions of Libya, and ultimately in critical subregions of the Sahel and coastal West Africa.

The plan will focus over time on creating the conditions necessary for democratic elections to take place in the long term (for example, citizen participation, consensus building, constitutional reform, reduce violence, and reconciliation efforts) and address the political barriers that have impeded holding credible elections to this day. The plan will promote inclusiveness, It seeks to increase the participation and representation of women, youth, and other groups that are traditionally marginalized and underrepresented in the Libyan political system. Fostering more inclusive political and economic processes in Libya will help build the resilience needed to achieve long-term peace and stability.

This plan’s tailored and scalable approach will be applied across four overarching objectives that will guide diplomatic, development and security engagement:

• Goal 1: Libya promotes its transition to a unified, democratically elected, and stable political system that enjoys broad participation and acceptance by Libyan society, It can effectively and equitably deliver targeted public services and protect the human rights of all Libyans.
• Goal 2: Libya better integrates the historically marginalized south into national structures, Which leads to a broader unification and securing of the southern borders.
• Goal 3: Libya makes progress toward a unified military and security apparatus under civilian control with absolute control over the legitimate use of force capable of maintaining stability and contributing to regional security goals.
• Goal 4: The economic and business environment in Libya promotes sustainable and equitable economic growth, and reduce corruption, It allows for better revenue management.

The United States will marshal and align diplomacy, foreign aid, and other tools to achieve these four goals in a sequential fashion. The United States Government will increase engagement with and support for local subnational, municipal, and civil society actors, Especially in southern Libya at first, that promote reconciliation, community-based dialogues and inclusive service delivery. This support will include new efforts to promote economic opportunities and financial inclusion for marginalized groups. at the same time, The United States government will continue to mobilize support, including through the UN-led political process, To reach a political solution among Libya’s leaders that could pave the way for broader reconciliation and eventual elections.

Partnerships with reform-minded actors and institutions is essential to achieving the vision outlined in this plan and to expanding the scope of US efforts over time. The United States will continue to pursue high-level diplomacy to encourage political processes that can create opportunities for greater engagement and assistance across these goals. Inherent in this strategic approach, Learning and feedback loops that will engage Libyan perspectives throughout implementation, and take advantage of local capabilities, and strengthen coordination mechanisms with local actors for strategic planning and evaluation, and supports local participation and oversight. The US government will invest in working groups with local partners, In addition to other international donors, To facilitate ongoing dialogue and coordination.

Consistent with the US Strategy for Conflict Prevention and Stabilization and based on lessons learned from the review of stabilization assistance and other operations, The United States is committed to promoting integration and innovation in the development of this plan in several ways:

• A clear focus on addressing the drivers of conflict and instability. The plan explicitly focuses on the specific drivers of conflict and instability and proposes specific early focus areas to counter those drivers – specifically: participation in southern Libya; disarmament, demobilization and reintegration of armed actors; and national reconciliation.
• Incorporating local stakeholders in all phases of implementation. By building on the consultations used to inform this plan, The US Government will seek to engage local actors more regularly throughout implementation to enhance ownership and participation in achieving the goals.
• An integrated approach to inter-agency planning and implementation. The plan reflects a comprehensive government approach to planning and implementation. With substantial input from all the Diplomatic, Development and Defense sectors (the Three Sectors) (“3Ds”).
• A strategic approach to monitoring, evaluation and learning. The plan provides a common framework for tracking progress toward strategic goals through jointly owned metrics and achievements, enable the United States Government to pursue implementation iteratively and adaptively, better embed efforts in local communities, and make strategic adjustments based on evidence.
• Commitment to strategic communications. Recognizing that the United States strategy to prevent conflict, promote stability, and implement the Ten-Year Plan can serve as an important advocacy mechanism for domestic and international stakeholders, The plan includes a strong strategic communications approach.

The Plan explicitly acknowledges and seeks to address the many assumptions and risks inherent in the Plan, They are things that, if not curbed, It can hinder the achievement of goals. This includes the overall political and security situation and greater US access to Libya to engage in diplomatic and development efforts. The plan identifies a series of mitigation measures to address the identified risks, Including if the situation remains volatile. It recognizes the importance of a flexible implementation approach to enabling the US Government’s efforts to meet our goals to be modified when needed. Continued engagement and consultation with Congress will be essential to creating the conditions for success. Including the president’s budget support needed to implement this plan.

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