The state of Libya must be built

http://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2013/sep/19/the-state-of-libya-must-be-built

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Two years ago it was not Syria but Libya in the headlines, with the transitional council which had led the struggle to depose Muammar Gaddafi seated at the United Nations as the country's new government. This week Libya's prime minister, Ali Zeidan, met David Cameron while in London for an investment conference, and Saif al-Islam Gaddafi's trial was adjourned to December; but today Libya is largely absent from the media. When it is referenced, it is most often because a commentator cites it to score a point regarding Syria. At the extreme, Libya is mentioned in the same breath as Iraq and Afghanistan as a self-evident disaster of western intervention.

But those of us who worked with Libyans, as I did while head of the UN mission there after the end of the Gaddafi regime, know that Libya deserves continuing attention for its own sake, especially for the courageous men and women who took peacefully to its streets in protest at the regime's repression, only to face its further violence. The country is indeed going through a period of great difficulty: armed groupsbeyond state authority sometimes intimidating legislators and judicial authorities; assassinations, bombings and abductions; torture in detention; regional and ethnic divisions; political and ideological tensions exacerbated by events in neighbouring countries; terrorist groups straddling uncontrolled borders; and now a drastic slump in the flow of oil as well as the general inhibition which insecurity causes to investment.

Libya's travails must be understood in its own terms, not through superficial generalisations about the Arab spring turning to winter. If analysts of Egypt talk today of the "deep state", in which its army has a leading role, Libya has aptly been called the "stateless state", not only lacking security forces but left by Gaddafi devoid of almost every institution of modern governance.

It was moving to witness the elation of most Libyans as they voted in its first election for 50 years in July last year. This election – an extraordinary achievement – was necessary to address post-conflict challenges and the overwhelming demand to exercise long-denied democratic rights, together with the frailty of interim authorities. But it was far from being a sufficient condition, as events have shown.

The elected General National Congress and its government suffer from inexperience and divisions. Disagreements persist about the role of political parties, whether new or founded on the long-underground Muslim Brotherhood, and about the eligibility for office of those who served the Gaddafi regime. Attempts to establish a body to draft a new constitution face problems that go back to the emergence of independent Libya from three former provinces of the Ottoman empire, brokered by the UN in 1951. Above all, authorities struggle to manage a transition from today's militias to an army and police force which can establish a state monopoly of force.

Despite this, surveys show Libya's people remain remarkably optimistic as they experience freedoms they were so long denied. Their desire for a state which can provide the rule of law is expressed through a vibrant civil society, sometimes challenging the lawlessness of militia. Tribes are a source of local conflict, but their elders are also a means of conflict resolution, and Libya is largely free of the sectarian divisions that plague Iraq and Syria. Oil wealth offers a better future for a small population, if the dangers of corruption and dependency on handouts can be held in check and it is invested to create employment.

What should be the response of those whose concern is for Libya itself? A group of American experts has just written to John Kerry, the US secretary of state, advising him to increase Washington's engagement in the country. International actors should indeed stay engaged, as the UK has consistently sought to do. But any over-assertive western approach will provoke a backlash in Libya, signs of which can already be seen.

A framework for increased international support to the all-important security sector has been agreed between the government and UN, the European Union and bilateral partners. The UN is supporting Libyan efforts to launch a national dialogue among authorities and revolutionaries, regions and tribes. An understanding is required of the legacy of the Gaddafi era, together with a realistic sense of the pace at which democratic institutions, security and rule of law can be established. And this should contribute not to disillusion, but to a sustained commitment to assist.

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