Benghazi hosts two fora to fostering peace and community dialogue with youth, civil society, media and authorities

Over three days last week from 21 to 23 April, more than 85 representatives of youth, civil society, media and government authorities engaged in two fora dedicated to combating the spread of disinformation and misinformation during elections and fostering community peace and cohesion. 

Organised by UNSMIL’s Security Institutions Service, the first forum, which lasted two days, focused on enhancing election security and brought together media representatives and officials from the High National Elections Commission (HNEC), the Ministry of Interior, the General Authority for Monitoring Media Content and civil society organizations from across Libya. About 70 people attended the event, 35 per cent of whom were women.  

Participants discussed the media landscape, the spread of disinformation and misinformation and the effect on the integrity and transparency of elections.  

Representatives from HNEC presented an overview of their efforts to raise public awareness and participants reviewed a case study of electoral campaigns in Al Khums municipality identifying media violations during the campaigning period. Participants also studied local and international tools for combating election-related disinformation and misinformation and explored ways to mitigate its impact. 

Participants produced practical recommendations to reduce the harmful effects of disinformation and misinformation during elections, such as improving the legal framework governing elections and promoting cooperation amongst government entities, civil society, media institutions and other relevant stakeholders at national and local levels. 

The second one-day forum brought together youth and civil society organizations from the east west and south to discuss ideas for advancing security sector reform and contributing to the reduction of community conflict violence. This is part of the Mission’s ongoing efforts to increase community support to security sector development and facilitate the sharing of innovative approaches and practical lessons from the field on the role of young people and women in the de-escalation and conflict prevention efforts. 

Civil society can play a critical role in promoting stability and building trust between institutions and communities, participants said. They recommended ways to strengthen social cohesion and create space for dialogue in the political process, including referring to international best practices in peacebuilding. 

Participants suggested establishing an interactive networking platform where ideas could be discussed -and recommendations generated- between civil society, Libyan institutions and UNSMIL. They requested more engagement with civil society on the topic of Libyan security sector reform and governance, including specialized training.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).