Finally, after nearly a year of continuous work and effort, the establishment and launch of the Libyan Network for Missing Persons has been officially announced!
I am very pleased with the launch of the Libyan Network for Missing Persons, with the participation of 25 Libyan civil society organizations that came together from across the country to unite their efforts in defending the rights of missing persons and their families, working to uncover their fate, realizing the right to truth, and achieving justice and accountability.
I had the honor of working as a consultant with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Libya, in order to contribute to the establishment of the Network, the development of its institutional structure, and the strengthening of the capacities of its members.
It was an intensive working journey with the representatives of dozens of Libyan civil society organizations, which included providing specialized consultations; organizing workshops and training lectures on governance and institutional management; contributing to the drafting of the Statute, the Internal Bylaws, and the Code of Conduct; developing methodologies and tools for documenting cases of missing persons and disappearances; and working on the preparation of a database and mechanisms for information management and protection, in addition to preparing reports and recommendations on institutional development and the sustainability of the work of the Network.
The mission was a process of institutional and participatory building, the aim of which was to help organizations of diverse expertise and backgrounds establish an independent national framework, one that is built on trust, governance, and collective action, that transcends geographic, political, and social divisions, and that unites efforts around a humanitarian and human rights cause of the utmost importance.
It is a pleasure for me to see today the fruit of this joint work having turned into an established network. However, I am also aware that the establishment is not the end of the road, but rather its beginning; the most important challenge in the coming phase lies in consolidating the institutional structure, developing technical capacities, ensuring independence and sustainability, and building a firm relationship of trust with the families of missing persons, so as to achieve a tangible impact in defending their rights. This is what I hope we will work on in the coming period.
I extend my sincere congratulations to the founding organizations of the Network, and my thanks and appreciation to my colleagues at UNDP and to all the representatives of Libyan civil society organizations with whom I had the honor of working during this journey, for the commitment, cooperation, and dedication they showed towards the success of this project.
I wish the Libyan Network for Missing Persons every success in its journey ahead. I hope that this step will be the beginning of a sustainable national and institutional work, one that contributes to uncovering the fate of missing persons, providing redress for their families, and consolidating their rights to truth, justice, and accountability.
