Outcome LBY_D_1.2

By 2025, people in Libya participate in and benefit from a more peaceful, safe, and secure society, free from armed conflict and underpinned by unified and strengthened security, justice, rule of law, and human rights institutions that promote and protect human rights based on the principles of inclusivity, non-discrimination, and equality in accordance with international norms and standards. (UNSDCF Outcome 1.2 (taken verbatim))

This outcome was partially achieved as planned. First, there was progress towards the adoption of a law to advance women’s empowerment. Parliamentarians enhanced their capacities to draft and adopt non-discriminatory legislation, including to empower women. 13 House of Representatives (HoRs) members (11 women and 2 men) enhanced their understanding and support for the Ending Violence Against Women (EVAW) draft law, and committed to actively advocate for the draft law, with the goal of securing a vote in its favor, leading to this result. UN Women contributed to this through the organization of two-days round table discussions in Cairo, in collaboration with UNSMIL, UNDP and the Team of Experts on Rule of Law and Sexual Violence in Conflict. Second, an increased number of women can access services after experiencing violence or discrimination, as one rule of law institution increased their capacity to administer justice for women and girls in Libya in accordance with national commitments on international human rights norms and standards and transitional justice, and two national authorities improved their capacity to deliver responsive protection services to address online violence against women. Seventeen (17) junior female lawyers have capacities on international standards on human rights and criminal justice, guaranteeing of fair trial, rights of the defendants during criminal procedures, code of ethics, combatting violence against women and conflict-related sexual violence. According to post training evaluation, a unanimous 100% of participants reported an increased confidence in advocating for women's rights within the legal profession. In addition, sixteen (16) women (13 volunteers and 2 employees affiliated with the High National Elections Commission and the head of the women’s office in Sebha) have capacities on digital security and reporting tools specific to Meta platforms during an online training. Diverse in background and age, participants expressed varying interests in META tools, with a post-training survey revealing increased confidence in using safety tools, though some desired more information. In parallel, 4604 people were reached through the social media campaign, 16 Days of Activism Campaign, increasing their knowledge on thematic areas such as women's political participation and youth engagement. UN Women contributed to these results by providing technical and financial support to organize capacity building trainings and powerful social media campaigns, leveraging its coordination mandate and collaborating with key stakeholders (Tripoli Bar Association, UNSMIL, UNDP, META). Based on the progress made, the strategy and theory of change are largely still applicable. UN Women will continue to diversify its engagement with civil society by focusing on youth and persons with disabilities as well as leveraging its coordination function to link civil society initiatives with decision-makers. If this strategy is successful, impact-level changes in the lives of women and girls in the areas of inclusive reconciliation and participation of women are expected within five (5) years.

By 2025, people in Libya participate in and benefit from a more peaceful, safe, and secure society, free from armed conflict and underpinned by unified and strengthened security, justice, rule of law, and human rights institutions that promote and protect human rights based on the principles of inclusivity, non-discrimination, and equality in accordance with international norms and standards. (UNSDCF Outcome 1.2 (taken verbatim))

UN Women made significant progress towardes this outcome. In 2024, UN Women Libya , in partnership with UNDP and UNSMIL supported HNEC in developing a voter registration strategy by building the capacity of 23 women from Women CSOs and networks to advocate for and support inclusive political and electoral processes, to strategize on enhancing women’s political participation, and increase the percentage of women voters in local elections. This initiative addressed the low registration rate of 19% by equipping CSOs with the knowledge and advocacy tools needed to identify and address barriers to women’s voter registration. These collaborative efforts demonstrated the power of stakeholder engagement and advocacy, significantly increasing women’s voter registration from 19% to 29%. A dditionally, UN Women led a high-level dialogue in Tripoli bringing together 9 female HOR members and 10 HNEC representatives to evaluate recommendations from the 2024 National Conference and 2023 Regional Conference on Advancing Women’s Political Representation In Libya, which resulted in the formation of a dedicated committee and defined steps for organizing a regional conference on women’s political empowerment, reigniting dialogue on legal reforms, including the EVAW draft law. Furthermore, UN Women advanced regional learning, exchange, and build capacities of 29 key stakeholders (14 HOR members, 13 Arab and African parliamentarians, and 2 representatives from Arab electoral bodies) on Legal Reforms to Support Women in Elections. The conference concluded with actionable recommendations, including advocating for a 30% quota for women in elections in Libya and the MENA region, adopting the EVAW law, and reforming Libya’s Penal Code, Cybercrimes Law, and Political Parties Law to ensure the responsiveness to women rights.