Tuareg have faced discrimination and racist harassment in post-2011 Libya due to the perception that they were Gaddafi loyalists. Together with other minorities in Libya, they are seeking a greater degree of participation in the political future of the country and guarantees that their cultural and linguistic rights will be respected. Like the Imazighen, Tuareg were granted only two seats on the Constitutional Drafting Committee and joined the Imazighen in their boycott of the process. Draft versions of the Constitution released since 2015 have recognized Tuareg culture and language as important parts of Libya’s heritage, but have fallen short in offering true protections to the community from discrimination and other abuses of their rights. UNESCO has classified the language of the Tuareg as ‘definitely endangered.’
Lack of documentation is another ongoing concern in the Tuareg community. According to some estimates, approximately 14,000 Tuareg do not hold citizenship or official papers. Since Libya’s 1954 citizenship law required applicants to prove that their mother, father, grandmother or grandfather was born in Libya, many of the semi-nomadic Tuareg could not apply for citizenship due to their frequent movement across the borders between Libya, Algeria, Niger and Chad as well as lack of documents proving their origin.
Recently, the Tuareg have been embroiled in conflict with the Tebu in the southern town of Awbari, driven by disputes over oil and water resources and control of the lucrative smuggling trade in arms, drugs and migrants. Beginning in September 2014, clashes between militias from the two communities led to the displacement of 18,500 people, most of whom were women, children and the elderly. The two communities signed a ceasefire brokered by Qatar in November 2015, although sporadic clashes continued. IDPs began returning to the town, despite the fact that homes, infrastructure and services remained destroyed or heavily damaged; in May 2017 the conditions of the agreement were finally implemented with the withdrawal of militias from both sides from the town.
Source link : https://minorityrights.org/communities/tuareg-3/
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Publish date : 2024-01-23 19:52:23
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