As part of the project “Towards National Reconciliation in Libya”, members of the reconciliation committees and experts from the Local Council of Awal and the city of Ghadames attended a three-day training in Tunis on 3-5 May 2018.

Ghadames, a historic town located on the border with Algeria and Tunisia, witnessed violent conflict in 2011 between the town's mixed population and the Tuareg community, reinforcing long-standing divisions inherited from the past. The conflict resulted in severe casualties and damage on all sides, causing many Tuareg to flee and to establish themselves in the locality of Awal, a branch in the municipality of Derj, 40 km east of Ghadames. Around 220 families are displaced as a consequence of this conflict. 

The two reconciliation committees were established following a dialogue between both parties facilitated by the United Nations in February 2018, whereby representatives from Ghadames and Awal agreed on the need to document the gross human rights violations committed on both sides in 2011/2012 through interviews with victims and witnesses, but also to identify damages and suggest appropriate reparations mechanisms. The most serious files are to be transferred to the national judicial authorities, and will serve future transitional justice mechanisms.

During this three-day training, experts from Morocco, Libya and South Africa gave participants basic tools on monitoring and documenting human rights violations, reparations programs and conflict resolution. Through better understanding these legal and investigations techniques, the two committees will be able to fully implement their mandate and contribute to reconciliation in and around Ghadames, in an effort to come to terms with a difficult past.