Humanitarian Appeal for Benghazi

Country/entity
Libya
Region
Middle East and North Africa
Agreement name
Humanitarian Appeal for Benghazi
Date
16 Mar 2016
Agreement status
Multiparty signed/agreed
Interim arrangement
Yes
Agreement/conflict level
Intrastate/local conflict
Stage
Pre-negotiation/process
Conflict nature
Inter-group
Peace process
Libyan local processes
Parties
Halimah Abdelmatloub; Sherif Abuzakouk; Aisha Agouryl Abdalla Aguilah; Naeima Aissa; Nuri Al Abbar; Khaled Al Agily; Soliman Mahmud Al Bassi; Awad Ibrahim Al Brassi; Morad Al Honi; Abdeljalil Al Rhamouk; Ziad Ballam; Jamal Belnour; Abdulmenem Ben Dardf; Abubakr Buera; Amel Bugaguis; Eman Bugaguis; Fawzi Bukatef; Mohamed Bukheyt; Lamia Busedra; Ahmed Busneinah; Muhammed Faraj Doghaim; Aminah Drsy; Attiyah Edreinah; Mansour El Ammary; Fathallah El Barani; Salem El Barani; Abdulsalam Mohammed El Basyouni; Nisreenn El Bishari; Nouh Isbak El Fakhry; Issam El Fallah; Omelez El Farsi; Abdelsalam El Farsi; Anwar El Feitori; Mohamed El Ferjani; Ahmed El Gasir; Aminah El Gehani; Munem Mohammad El Gumati; Abdel Hamid El Khodar; Wanis El Mabrook; Emhamed El Magherby; Sheib El Majbari; Hussam El Majri; Abdulmenem Hassan El Manfi; Fadelallah El Mehdi; Khalil El Mismary; Moeimen El Obeidi; Giumma El Omami; Muftah Issa El Qatrani; Labib El Ramli; Mohamed El Senoussi; Jalah El Shweihdi; Marwan El Tashani; Mohamed El Taynaz; Ammani El Zwei; Mona Esswed; Abdelgader Gadoura; Allam Hassan; Abir Imneinah; Jamila Issaoui; Naeima Jebril; Mehdi Kashbur; Tarek Khalil Lamloum; Salem Lengui; Halima Magharby; Idriss Mismary; Esam Omeish; Mohamed Omeish; Tarek Awad Orfi; Abdulhafid Muftah Rajab; Nassralah Saadi; Merei Salem; Ali Sallabi; Issam Tajoury; Muhammad Ammari Zaid; Fawzi Zairi.
Third parties
-
Description
A Pre-pre-negotiation document establishing a common position among Civil Society Organisations in Benghazi, highlighting the importance of adhering to International Law, acquiring humanitarian aid for those in need, urging the importance of the right of return for Internally Displaced Persons; and working within the confines of Islam, among other matters.


Local agreement properties

Process type
Informal but persistent process
Rationale
-> Link to national level; no external support mechanism; culture of signing Although it is unclear whether the agreement was supported by a formally-established mechanism, it is clearly embedded into sustained efforts by diverse actors to bring an end to the violent conflict in Libya, as attested by the many agreements recorded in the PA-X database.
Is there a documented link to a national peace process?
Yes
Link to national process: articulated rationale
The agreement seems to be linked to the national process. It contains references to the "nation and its unity" and call for the Libyan authorities to "facilitate the reconstruction of the city". The signing parties also call for the establishment of "a system of transitional justice, adapted to the Libyan context" to facilitate reconciliation and recover national stability.
Name of Locale
Benghazi
Nature of Locale
City
GPS Lat/Long (DD)
32.099773, 20.094846
Participant type
Local community/civilian group(s)/civil society organisations
Mediator, facilitator or similar
No mention of mediator or similar

Local issues

Ritual/prayer and process (including use of scripture)
Page 2, May God protect Benghazi and all its children
Grievance List
The agreement addresses the grievance that arose from the siege of Benghazi, including the humanitarian situation, the number of displaced people, the destruction of the city and the violations of IHL and Human Rights.
Cattle rustling/banditry

No specific mention.

Social cover

No specific mention.


1. Arabic and French versions of the Appeal available below / Versions arabe et française de cet Appel disponibles ci-dessous.

2. The list of those who have endorsed the Appeal as of 16 March 2016 is available at the end of this document /La liste des représentants ayant endossé cet Appel est disponible à la fin de ce document.

Humanitarian Appeal for Benghazi

1. We, the sons and daughters of Benghazi, protectors of the nation and its unity, coming from diverse backgrounds and sharing the common goal of saving our city and its population, unite behind this Humanitarian Appeal.

We solemnly adopt this Appeal and:

1) express the utmost alarm at the suffering which the people of Benghazi have endured over the last years, during which all aspects of normal life have been disrupted, and during which the majority of the population have lost their possessions, their homes and, above all, their loved ones;

2) record that:

• over half the population of Benghazi are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance, especially women, children, and people with special needs;

• thousands of displaced persons have found shelter throughout the country and abroad;

families are unable to return to their homes because of the war, or have found them uninhabitable because of damage, mines or unexploded ordinance (UXO);

people are living in conditions of utter depredation and are in urgent need of assistance, above all, healthcare and shelter;

3) stress the right of return for these displaced people to their city and homes in the shortest possible time;

4) request the relevant Libyan authorities to undertake all efforts to facilitate the reconstruction of the city and provide compensation to those civilians adversely affected by the conflict;

5) believe that providing education for all Benghazi’s children and youth is critical if we are not to lose a whole generation;

6) demand that humanitarian assistance is not politicized and that all actors provide humanitarian assistance without discrimination in accordance with International Humanitarian Law (IHL);

7) condemn violations of IHL and Human Rights, particularly any targeting of civilians, residential areas, and vital civil infrastructure, inter alia hospitals, educational establishments and electricity plants;

and

8) commit to using all of our influence, within our power and limitations, to ensuring that all aspects of this Appeal are respected.

2. Within the limits of our power and influence, we commit and call upon all others to:

1) respect IHL and Human Rights, and remain loyal the principles of Islam and the values of coexistence;

2) avoid collateral damage induced by the war and fighting;

3) respect the role played by the Libyan Red Crescent, municipal council, Benghazi Crisis Committees, and other Libyan Civil Society Organizations in providing humanitarian assistance;

Humanitarian Appeal for Benghazi

4) establish the conditions under which humanitarian assistance may be provided safely to all the civilian population, in accordance with IHL;

5) provide security guarantees for humanitarian workers;

6) work towards social peace, based upon tolerance and according to the principles of moderate Islam, which rejects all forms of radicalism;

and,

7) establish a system of transitional justice, adapted to the Libyan context, which will help heal the wounds of the victims of the conflict and facilitate social reconciliation and a return to stability.

3. As citizens of Benghazi, we call upon international humanitarian actors to:

1) provide life-saving humanitarian assistance without preconditions, discrimination or delay;

2) increase and improve immediate assistance to populations in need, including the restoration of electricity to the city, the clearance of all UXO and mines to allow the safe return of those displaced, the provision of medical care to the population, and the provision of all forms of urgent assistance to Internally Displaced Persons (IDPs) throughout the country;

3) work in all areas affected by military operations to establish the conditions and agreements for the terms of this declaration to be effective;

4) coordinate to respond to the urgent humanitarian needs;

and,

5) ensure that there is an urgent response to these critical needs.

May God protect Benghazi and all its children.

List of Endorsers

Those who have endorsed the Appeal, include the following (in alphabetical order, by last name):

First Name Last name

1

Halimah

Abdelmatloub

2

Sherif

Abuzakouk

3

Aisha

Agoury

4

Abdalla

Aguilah

5

Naeima

Aissa

6

Kuri

Al Abbar

7

Khaled

Al Agily

8

Soliman Mahmud

Al Brassi

9

Awad Ibrahim

Al Brassi

10

Morad

Al Honi

11

Abdeljalil

Al Rhamouk

12

Ziad

Ballam

13

Jamal

Belnour

14

Abdulmenem

Ben Dardf

15

Abubakr

Buera

16

Amel

Bugaguis

17

Eman

Bugaguis

18

Fawzi

Bukatef

19

Mohamed

Bukheyt

20

Lamia

Busedra

21

Ahmed

Busneinah

22

Muhammed Faraj

Doghaim

23

Aminah

Drsy

24

Attiyah

Edreinah

25

Mansour

El Ammary

26

Fathallah

El Barani

27

Salem

El Barani

28

Abdulsalam Mohammed

El Basyouni

29

Nisreen

El Bishari

30

Nouh Isbak

El Fakhry

31

Issam

El Fallah

32

Omelez

El Farsi

33

Abdelsalam

El Farsi

34

Anwar

El Feitori

35

Mohamed

El Ferjani

36

Ahmed

El Gasir

37

Aminah

El Gehani

38

Munem Mohammad

El Gumati

39

Abdel Hamid

El Khodar

40

Wanis

El Mabrook

41

Emhamed

El Magherby

42

Sheib

El Majbari

43

Hussam

El Majri

44

Abdulmenem Hassan

El Manfi

45

Fadelallah

El Mehdi

46

Khalil

El Mismary

47

Moeimen

El Obeidi

48

Giumma

El Omani

49

Muftah Issa

El Qatrani

50

Labib

El Ramli

51

Mohamed

El Senoussi

52

Jalah

El Shweidi

53

Marwan

El Tashani

54

Mohamed

El Taynaz

55

Ammani

El Zwei

56

Mona

Esswed

57

Abdelgader

Gadoura

58

Allam

Hassan

59

Abir

Imneinah

60

Jamila

Issaoui

61

Naeima

Jebril

62

Mehdi

Kashbur

63

Tarek Khalil

Lamloum

64

Salem

Langui

65

Halima

Magharby

66

Idriss

Mismary

67

Esam

Omeish

68

Mohamed

Omeish

69

Tarek Awad

Orfi

70

Abdulhafid Muftah

Rajab

71

Nassralah

Saadi

72

Merei

Salem

73

Ali

Sallabi

74

Issam

Tajoury

75

Muhammad Ammari

Zaid

76

Fawzi

Zairi