Libyan youth meet at UN mission to discuss community violence reduction

Representatives from the Zintan and Mashashiya communities met at the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) headquarters in Tripoli last Thursday to develop strategies for reducing violence and advancing social reform.

The dialogue session, part of UNSMIL’s Comprehensive Community Reform Initiative, brought together young people to collaborate on designing violence reduction programmes. Civil society organisations and women leaders in peace-building also joined the discussions.

Participants highlighted that Libya’s diverse tribal communities are connected by a shared national identity and historical peaceful coexistence. They emphasised that these unifying elements are stronger than the divisions created by weapons proliferation and political conflicts.

The youth representatives advocated for broader future dialogues that would include participants from additional Western Mountains communities to strengthen regional peace-building efforts.

This initiative reflects UNSMIL’s commitment to fostering social cohesion and stability in Libya through community-driven solutions.​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​​