Please join the Libya Working Group—a joint initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Rafik Hariri Center for the Middle East, the Project on Middle East Democracy, and Freedom House— on January 22, from 12:00 to 1:30 p.m for a roundtable discussion on Libya’s constitution drafting process.
 

Karim Mezran, resident senior fellow, and nonresident fellow Duncan Pickard will present their latest issue brief titled “Negotiating Libya’s Constitution.” Fadel Lamen, a Hariri Center nonresident fellow and head of Libya’s National Dialogue Commission, and Susan Stigant, senior program officer at the United States Institute of Peace, will comment on the brief and share their insights about the challenges and opportunities Libya faces as it embarks on the constitution drafting and national dialogue processes. 

Libya’s transition is moving forward incrementally, despite deteriorating security conditions and continued oil port strikes. As the country prepares for constitutional draft committee elections, the dates for which remain tentative, there are many questions to consider:  the relationship between Islam and the state, the participation of women and minorities, decentralization versus federalism, and the role of the legislature once the constitutional draft committee is formed. We will explore key issues that could be problematic for the constitution writing process, as well as how a national dialogue could help to address deep divides in the country.