Tripoli— An alleged International Organization for Migration’s project to integrate illegal immigrants within Libyan municipalities has caused an uproar among Libyans who see the unprecedented growing number of illegal migrants in the country as becoming a real danger to national security.
The allegations have led to calls on social media for demonstration next Friday in the major cities of Tripoli, Benghazi, Sebha and Misurata compelling the Government of National Unity (GNU) to issue a statement denying the existence of any agreements with the IOM in this regard.
A statement by the Ministry of Local Government on 9 March denied that there was a discussion of a project of integration of illegal migrants during Minister Badreddine Al-Toumi’s meeting with the head of the IOM mission in Libya Nicoletta Giordano, describing the allegations as “media fallacies”.
It said, “some media reports included incorrect allegations regarding the existence of a discussion on ‘integrating illegal immigrants into Libyan municipalities’ or various projects for ‘settling immigrants’.”
The Ministry stressed its commitment to the policies of the Libyan state and maintained that the GNU’s position is “firm in rejecting any projects aimed at settling illegal immigrants inside Libya, under any name or framework”.
The meeting that took place, it said, dealt with coordination with the IOM and “emphasized that cooperation is limited to supporting the municipalities’ capabilities regarding the organization and management of local displacement of Libyan citizens according to national laws and regulations”.
“Any interpretation or distortion of the content of the meeting to confirm the existence of an agreement on projects to settle immigrants is a false claim, aimed only at stirring up confusion and disturbing public opinion,” the statement added.
The Ministry of Local Government called on media outlets to rely on official sources for news, stressing that it “is committed to the sovereignty of the state, and will continue to work with international partners in line with the national interest”.
However, a previous statement that was issued immediately after the meeting on 8 March, although it did mention discussing IOM’s initiatives related to the “displaced,” its focus was mainly on the “migrants”. This is what could have created doubts among Libyans about just what “projects” were exactly discussed at the meeting.
The statement on 8 March said, “the Minister opened the meeting with a welcoming speech, stressing the importance of partnership with the IOM in light of the current challenges facing the country, especially in the areas of migration. He stressed that this file is very sensitive and touches on many sectors, and must be worked on according to the approved frameworks and coordination”.
“He pointed out that enhancing cooperation with the organization can contribute to dispelling public opinion concerns about this file, and enhance the ability of municipalities to deal with migrant issues,” the statement continued.
Furthermore, official and private media outlets quoting the Ministry’s statement pointed out that Ms. Giordano reviewed with Mr, Al-Toumi the IOM’s activities in Libya during the past period stressing the need for “coordination with the ministry in order to provide direct support to migrants and displaced person through cooperation with municipalities”.
She also presented several initiatives for joint work with the Ministry, including those related to disarmament, reintegration, protection, and building the capacity of municipalities to deal with migrants, explaining how these programs can contribute to the stability of local communities, local media reported.
“At the end of the meeting, the two sides stressed the need to intensify communication at the technical level, to study initiatives and enhance cooperation and exchange knowledge and expertise,” the ministry’s statement concluded.
What is at stake, however, is that there is a big risk the people’s anger and frustration from the uncontrolled waves of illegal migrants in the country could lead to a violent backlash against them. The lack of cooperation from the international community and the absence of a concrete and transparent policy on the part of the government to combat this huge problem has deepened the people’s fear. This is even more so when the number of illegal migrants in Libya has reached, according to the Interior Ministry, over 3 million in February 2025.
In 2024, the neighboring Tunisia, for example, based on fear of changing the demographics of the country, adopted strong measures against illegal migrants who were estimated at about only 50,000 including refugees and registered asylum-seekers.
