Article Update: Women's Movement in Libya

Hello delegates!

Hope you are all staying safe and healthy during this unpredictable time! I just wanted to share an article with you that I found interesting and pertinent to the committee's second topic. The article is from the media site Toward Freedom and is titled "Libyan Women Are Charting a Path Toward Involvement in Politics and the Peace Process".

Even when working at the large scale of the United Nations Peacebuilding Commission, it is critical to realize that Lybian citizens are not just background characters to a conflict between the major political actors outlined in the background guide. This article discusses how Lybian women especially are structurally barred from political engagement through cyber intimidation campaigns, violence in their communities, and commitments to household duties like child-rearing. These same women and their families are left to deal with the human rights violations, reduced personal autonomy, financial
instability, and other negative consequences of systems they have little influence over. 

The article mentions a specific organization, Together We Build, which represents the growing dissatisfaction and organization among Libyan women, working together to create safer paths towards women’s political participation. Women and children’s problems are not just a product of the conflicts between Libya's political and ideological groups, but actually a key to sustainable peace: when the most vulnerable members of society have safety, opportunity, and a representative voice in public decision-making, the entire nation has greater public trust, resilience against extremism and misinformation, and a better foundation for further development. So, when you are researching and discussing possible solutions, consider the following questions:

1. Which groups, along with women and children, are being excluded from Libya's peacemaking process? How and why?
2. How have past Peace Processes or actions from Libya’s major political factions failed or succeeded in considering these groups in their plans for the country’s future?
3. How can your delegation bring in underrepresented stakeholders in line with your country’s foreign policy?

The dais would love to hear your opinions or reactions to this article, as well as any further questions or ideas that you may have on including women in the peace process. We look forward to reading your comments below this post!

Note: Toward Freedom, as a media source, is a smaller, less peer-reviewed source than many of its contemporaries. The source itself possesses left-center bias, and while it is generally factual in its reporting, it does tend to utilize loaded words that favor the left, so please be discerning when reading the article.