By Abdullah Alkabir, political writer and commentator
Role of Municipal Councils in migration and migrant labour issue
No one expects the de facto authorities to take the initiative to confront the threat of the increasing number of migrants. Their struggles over power, money, and influence distract them from any national concerns or issues. Nor one would expect the people to move to pressure the de facto authorities to address this challenge and respond to it at a level that removes the existential threat to the country.
What should be done, then, to confront the influx of migrants? Reducing their numbers to a reasonable level, so that this does not affect the demographic composition over time and does not provoke European countries into exploiting the issue to get rid of migrants by making Libya a final stop for them.
In fact, Italy has succeeded in recent years, through several agreements with Libyan authorities in both the east and west, in intercepting migrant boats at sea and returning them to Libyan shores. To achieve this goal, it has offered every possible incentive, supporting the Coast Guard with boats and training. In previous years, it directly entered into agreements with militia leaders in the west of the country, offering them money in exchange for stopping the migrant boats. There is no doubt that one of the reasons for the increasing number of foreign migrants in Libya, especially from sub-Saharan African countries, is the country's vast, unmonitored borders, despite the relative success in preventing them from reaching European shores.
This represents a partial solution to the problem for Europe, leaving Libya to bear the brunt of the responsibility. Since there is no hope for the de facto authorities, who are preoccupied with plunder and consolidating power and influence, and who do not even have statistics on the number of migrants, let alone classify them as refugees, migrants, or workers whose only ambition is to work to improve their living conditions, I suggest that elected municipal councils rise up to address this dilemma. Municipal councils could take stock of migrant workers within the administrative boundaries of each municipality, create a database containing basic information about every resident within the municipality, and urge citizens to cooperate in ensuring the success of this project. By enforcing laws, the municipality would call on all migrants to obtain health certificates, conduct inspections of their workplaces, and punish violators.
If all municipalities implement this measure, a nearly accurate database will be available for the number of arrivals, their nationalities, ages, and the manner in which they crossed the border. This is where the relevant ministries begin implementing plans to repatriate them, in cooperation with their embassies. These measures may face objections on the grounds that registering and recording arrivals within a single system will place Libya under legal responsibility for them. The International Organization for Migration will handle official data and statistics and demand that the Libyan state respect all international agreements and treaties it has signed.
This is certainly true. However, dealing officially and within the confines of full knowledge of all aspects of the migration file, with a comprehensive database on them, means controlling the file and directing it in a manner that serves the national interest, without compromising humanitarian, moral, and legal obligations towards migrants, refugees, and resident arrivals. Perhaps the municipalities' action, as permitted by law, will force the government to respond and interact with the municipalities' demands to rectify the status of immigration, asylum, displacement, and residency within the country. If the government seeks public satisfaction with its performance, it will certainly gain popular support and backing by addressing this extremely sensitive issue, given the continental and international dimensions surrounding it. If the local authorities adhere to the law, there will be no consequences that could hold the Libyan state accountable for any unwanted measures, because the country's local law takes precedence over any international laws or treaties, especially if Libya is not a signatory to them.
