Jaballah Shebani, Chairman of the Internally Displaced People Committee (IDPC) at the Council of Deputies (CoD) heads a new committee that addresses the growing problem of Libyans who have been displaced as a result of the civil conflict that first erupted in 2013 as well as after the 2011 revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

An IDP himself, Shebani told Correspondents about the many challenges in dealing with some one million IDPs.

Jaballah Shebani, Chairman of the Internally Displaced People Committee (IDPC) at the Council of Deputies (CoD) heads a new committee that addresses the growing problem of Libyans who have been displaced as a result of the civil conflict that first erupted in 2013 as well as after the 2011 revolution that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

An IDP himself, Shebani told Correspondents about the many challenges in dealing with some one million IDPs.

Mr. Shebani, is there any relationship between appointing you as the IDPC Chairman and the fact that you come from the city of Tawergha?

The IDPC is a newly formed CoD committee. Given that my family are from Tawergha and have been IDPs over the past four years, I submitted a proposal to an IDP-concerned committee. My proposal was approved and I was appointed the head of the IDPC.

What efforts have you made to assist IDPs and help in their return?

Our role in the CoD is to enact legislation, monitor and evaluate the government’s efforts, and correct any violations. In fact, our failure to address IDPs’ concerns is blamed on the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs – MoLSA – which is concerned with IDPs’ affairs. This has prompted me to interfere in some executive powers that lie outside my jurisdiction. I have demanded a database for IDPs inside Libya and abroad, the payment of their wages, and the allocation of US $10 million for IDPs in Tunisia and Egypt. Part of the allocated fund has been already disbursed, while the other part has been kept on hold due to unqualified supervisory committees.

Could you tell us about IDP distribution in Libya?

It is extremely difficult to give accurate figures due to changing situations. A safe area today might not be so the following day and its population might become IDPs as a consequence of the fighting and ongoing conflict. Some areas are inaccessible for various reasons, not to mention the undeclared or unclear incidents of displacement.

For example, Benghazi inhabitants who fled westward to Misrata and Tripoli are not included in our statistics. The same applies to the IDPs from Tripoli who hail from Zintan, Rujban and Seaan and who were displaced towards the Nafusa Mountains due to pressure by Fajr Libya militias. In addition, there are other IDPs from Ubari and Ghadames, over and above the other IDPs since 2011 from Tawergha, Mashashya, Qawalish, Toumayna, Kararim and Batin Jabal. Besides, large numbers of IDPs fled abroad.

How many IDPs are there inside Libya and abroad?

I believe there are over one million IDPs.

Which authorities help deliver aid to IDPs?

These include the MoLSA, the Libyan Humanitarian Relief Agency, the Libyan Red Crescent and international organizations like the UN. However, we could not reach some IDPs due to the war and because some armed groups have looted relief aid.

Do you have any vision regarding resettlement of IDPs or building housing units to accommodate them pending their return?

We have proposed to interim Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thani to build urgent prefabricated houses on state-owned plots of land allotted by some municipalities. The Ministry of Local Government is supposed to have referred the relevant file to the Bayda-based Council of Ministers – CoM – for onward referral to the Project Authority in order to announce a relevant tender. It is clear though that the CoM has failed to take any further action despite our repeated visits.

Are there any local or foreign offers to implement the IDP housing project?

Many detailed offers have been made by Turkish companies and Libyans at a minimal estimated cost of LYD 20,000 per house (US $14,000). The IDPs registered with us and those mentioned by a UN statistical report need at least 90,000 prefab houses as temporary residences.

Do you have any future concerns about implementation?

With regard to Benghazi IDPs, they will return to start reconstruction once there is a ceasefire. As for other areas like Tawergha, Qawalish, Mashashya, Toumayna and Kararim, some of their IDPs refuse to live in temporary houses and prefer to stay in tents inside camps lest their cause and right to return be jeopardized.

What about those who fled from Tawergha and the efforts made to help them return?

Tawergha IDPs have been distributed over a number of camps. In Tripoli, camps have been allocated to them in Janzour, Falah and along the airport road. In Benghazi, they are living in the sports city as well as the camps of Garyounis and Halis, which were recently burned. Some of them have gone to Tarhuna and Bani Walid, in addition to other small clusters. Also, nearly 35,000 families have rented houses.

During my visit to Tunisia, I asked the official in charge of Tawergha/Misrata in the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) about the last developments and the roadmap one year into its approval. He said they did not have any specific plan other than paying compensation to the affected people of Misrata so as to pacify them and take them into allowing the IDPs from Tawergha to return to their city. I told him it was unfair to blame Tawergha population for the actions committed by the defunct regime because the battalions that entered Misrata in 2011 were not just from Tawergha, but from several areas, including Misrata itself.

During his New Year’s Eve visit to Tripoli, UNSMIL head Martin Kobler visited one of Tawergha camps. What significance did that visit have in your opinion?

The UNSMIL has certain international criteria that are different from ours and from our aims. The people of Tawergha demand the right to return, while the UNSMIL says no because it is necessary first to provide security, food and a decent living.

An article of the draft Libyan Political Agreement provided for ‘voluntary return of IDPS’ without elaborating further, so I interfered and added Article 27 which states: ‘The Government of National Accord shall commit to developing the necessary plans for the safe and dignified return of the internally displaced and refugees to their cities, within 90 days of the date of the ceasefire entry into force,’ which is December 17 the date the agreement was signed in Skhirat.

If the agreed deadline ends without realizing the return decision, I demand the people of Tawergha and all IDPs to protest and pressure the new government to fulfill its obligation. I will also demand the formation of a ministry for IDPs.