Libya’s Parliament has taken a significant step towards healing the country’s deep-seated rifts, passing a national reconciliation law by a majority vote on Tuesday.
The law, approved during a session in Benghazi, aims to address the divisions that have plagued Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011.
According to parliamentary speaker Abdullah Blehig, the law is the result of thorough discussion and deliberation. “After completing discussion and deliberation of the articles of the draft law, the House of Representatives approved the national reconciliation law,” he said.
The initiative for national reconciliation was first launched by Libya’s Presidency Council in September 2021.
In August 2024, Parliament Speaker Aguila Saleh was tasked with drafting the law, which was later endorsed by Saleh and Mohamed Menfi, head of Libya’s Presidency Council, in November.
Libya has remained divided since Gaddafi’s fall, with the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord, recognized internationally, governing one part, and Benghazi-based military commander Khalifa Haftar controlling the other. The new law is seen as a crucial step towards reunifying the country.
