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Zack Elbouzedi celebrates after scoring for Ireland U21s against Sweden in November 2019. Source: Ryan Byrne/INPHO

FOR ZACK ELBOUZEDI, the journey home for Christmas was a rare case of looking forward to getting back to the Irish weather.

It was minus 15 [degrees celsius] in Sweden, he says. You wouldnt want to be going around in a t-shirt. Its a different level of cold over there and it takes some getting used to.

Back in Dublin for the festive period, Elbouzedi has been reflecting on a year that delivered the best spell of his club career despite its inauspicious start.

He came into 2021 with just two substitute appearances to show for Lincoln Citys first 20 games of the League One season. It was becoming increasingly clear that he wasnt part of Michael Appletons plans.

By the time Lincolns push for a place in the Championship ran aground with a play-off final defeat to Blackpool at Wembley in May, Elbouzedi had already contributed to a successful promotion bid elsewhere.

While on loan at Bolton Wanderers who went up from League Two he played 14 games. Yet having arrived at a time when Ian Evatts side were embarking on a superb run of form that would transform their season, the winger had to be content with being used mostly from the bench.

Still under contract to a club where he had no future, Elbouzedi was heading into an uncertain summer. Then came a call from a somewhat unlikely source.

Bartosz Grzelak cared little for how the previous 18 months played out for Elbouzedi in the lower tiers of the English Football League. Grzelak, the manager of leading Swedish club AIK, had seen his potential first-hand during a couple of games in 2019.

Elbouzedi scores for Lincoln City against Accrington Stanley. Source: Alamy Stock Photo

After starring for the Ireland U21s against their counterparts from Sweden in a 3-1 away win, Elbouzedi chipped in with a goal and an assist in a 4-1 victory in the return fixture in Tallaght. In his role as the Swedes assistant coach, Grzelak took note.

Even though I finished last season getting promoted with Bolton, I wasnt really starting games and it looked like things werent going to work out with Lincoln.

If you had told me then that a few months later Id be playing in front of 45,000 people and qualifying for Europe, theres no way I could have believed it, Elbouzedi says of his move to AIK, who paid an undisclosed fee to bring him to Stockholm on a three-and-a-half-year deal.

But Ive always believed in myself. Ive had tough times in my career but Ive always tried to stay positive and work hard. A lot of people in my position last summer might have downed tools and became unfit, and when an opportunity arose they wouldnt have been ready. But I try to have a good attitude and thankfully that got rewarded.

After impressing during his time in the League of Ireland with Waterford, Elbouzedi earned his first Ireland U21 call-up from Stephen Kenny in March 2019 and went on to win 13 caps.

His performances for AIK thus far have also been a vindication of Bartosz Grzelaks decision to take a chance on a player whose career was seemingly at a crossroads. Since his arrival in July, Elbouzedi featured in all 20 of the clubs games in the Allsvenskan (Swedens top-flight).

His campaign peaked in a 3-0 win against Ostersund, after which he took the man-of-the-match award home as a reward for scoring one goal and setting up another.

Ive always felt that I can repay a manager who gives me a chance and believes in me, he says. I think I did that with Alan Reynolds at Waterford, Stephen Kenny with the Ireland U21s and now with the manager at AIK.

Ive started every game since I broke into the team. Having a manager wholl give me a fair crack of the whip always seems to go well for me, but I dont think I got that at Lincoln.

Michael Appleton described the signing of Elbouzedi as a coup for Lincoln City when he made the move in January 2020, implying that the former Malahide United man was lined up for a prominent role. To that end, he was left puzzled by being restricted to a total of 11 appearances in 12 months.

Last summer, he [Appleton] said in the press that I was free to leave Lincoln, but he never actually said that to me personally, the 23-year-old says. I knew, due to not playing, that I probably wasnt in his plans, but for him to put it out in the press instead of speaking to me personally was disrespectful, I felt. It hurt a bit.

Maybe it was the case that he didnt fancy me as a player or I didnt fit his style, which is fair enough, but I never really found out why I wasnt getting many opportunities. He never spoke to me about it. Im glad it happened now though. When one door closes, another opens, and its led me to AIK, where Im really happy.

Playing alongside the likes of Mikael Lustig and Sebastian Larsson, who reached the last 16 of the European Championship earlier this year, Elbouzedi was part of an AIK side who finished just a point shy of claiming the clubs 13th league title earlier this month.

Aiming to dislodge holders Malmo from top spot on the final day of the season, AIK were 4-2 winners against Sirius. Malmo failed to beat Halmstad, but a draw was sufficient nevertheless for them to extend their reign as champions.

There was a stage in the game when our supporters started lighting flares, so I was thinking we must be about to win the league here, Halmstad must be beating Malmo, but it wasnt to be, he recalls. It was disappointing obviously, but AIK finished ninth last season so to only lose the league on goal difference is good progress for the club.

He adds: Ive really enjoyed it out there so far. Theres a really big Irish community [in Stockholm] too. Theres a GAA club so I went out to one of their games and it was like being at home again. There was about a hundred Irish people there, it was deadly. A few of them turned up at one of our games then so it was nice to see the tricolours in the stadium.

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AIK team-mates Mikael Lustig and Seb Larsson celebrate after Sweden's win over Slovakia at Euro 2020. Source: Russian Look Ltd./Alamy Stock Photo

Irish players seldom look beyond the UK when attempting to advance their careers, but the early indications are that Elbouzedi is on course to emulate Josh Cullen as an advocate for the benefits of a move to the continent. He has already been contacted by curious peers who are intrigued by the possibility of following a similar path.

He says: I always felt that going abroad would suit my style. In Ireland were producing more technical players now, so the European way of football would be good for Irish lads. Its just about players getting the opportunities now because I dont necessarily think Irish players arent open to going abroad.

Maybe European scouts dont view Irish players as being good enough technically. They probably still associate us with hoofball and physicality, but you can see from what Stephen Kenny is trying to do with the senior team that things are much different now. Hopefully that perception of Irish football continues to change.

He played in every competitive game of Stephen Kennys reign as U21 manager, so the current senior boss is already well-versed in Elbouzedis capabilities. The Dubliner is keen to produce club form in 2022 that will be worthy of international recognition.

I played quite a lot under Stephen Kenny and I feel I did well. Unfortunately for me, when he came into the senior job I wasnt playing regularly at Lincoln and Bolton. Now that Im playing every week for a big club at a good level, hopefully therell be a call-up down the line.

Its my dream to play for the Ireland senior team, Ive been saying that for a while, but to have the best chance of that I just have to focus on playing well for the club. Getting too hung up on playing for Ireland will only take away from my performances for AIK, so I need to just keep doing what Im doing and hope that it comes.

Libya, under the management of former Spain boss Javier Clemente, made several attempts to call Elbouzedi up this year, but he politely rejected the interest from his fathers homeland.

Theyve tried to get me to play for them in the last few windows but it wont be happening, he insists. I wouldnt take a Libya cap away from a Libyan person who it would mean more to. Ireland is my country, thats who I want to play for.

Zack Elbouzedi (centre) pictured before AIK's top-of-the-table clash with Malmo in October. Source: Alamy Stock Photo

Adamant that AIK fans have yet to see his best, Elbouzedi is determined to fulfil his potential for a club wholl be competing in the Europa Conference League next season.

Ive shown a lot of what I can do, but I can still contribute more goals and assists, while also becoming more of a leader in the team, he says.

When I go back in the new year, getting a full pre-season under my belt and feeling properly settled in, people are going to see more from me.

Its been a good start, but its something I can build on from here.

More:
Elbouzedi declining Libya call-ups as he keeps Ireland 'dream' alive - The42

The Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity, Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, said that the government will start granting loans to youth and non-youth in the coming days, noting that the government's Economic Committee will start implementing the economic development loan program.

In his speech during the ceremony of distributing the cheques of the second batch of the marriage support grant in Tripoli, on Tuesday, Dbeibah explained that this program aims to help young people in economic planning and implementation of their own projects.

PM Dbeibah confirmed that his government achieved a financial surplus despite the current circumstances, unlike previous governments, reiterating that his government was the least spending government over the past years.

He also called on his government ministers to provide reports on the funds allocated to them, asking the youth to form a "follow-up government" to monitor the work of ministries and the implementation of projects in various regions of the country.

Dbeibah added that he had not previously planned to head the government, indicating that he would hand over his duties to an elected authority, stressing his continuation in his position until the adoption of a constitution for the country, stressing the need to preserve Libya's unity, saying many conspiracies today seek to undermine the unity of the Libyans.

More:
We will grant loans to youth and others, PM Dbeibah says - The Libya Observer

Libya will hold its first-ever presidential elections on Dec. 24, after decades of dictatorship and years of civil war. The vote marks an important turning point for the country and is due in part to the creative diplomacy conducted there in recent years by the United Nations.

On The Negotiators podcast this week, we hear from Stephanie Turco Williams, the former head of the U.N. Support Mission in Libya, who oversaw much of that process.

Host Jenn Williams also speaks with Hajer Sharief, a prominent peace activist in Libya and a co-founder of the organization Together We Build It. Sharief worries that the fragile peace in the country could yet unravel.

About The Negotiators: Conflicts dont just get resolved on their own. Most are settled through a grueling process of give and take, usually behind closed doors. On the new podcast The Negotiators, Foreign Policy is teaming up with Doha Debates to put listeners in the room. Hosted by FP deputy editor Jenn Williams, each episode will feature one mediator, diplomat, or troubleshooter, describing one dramatic negotiation. Youll hear about a nuclear standoff, a hostage crisis, a gang mediation, and much more: successes and failures that shaped peoples lives.See All Episodes

Read the original post:
The Long Road to Libya's Election Foreign Policy - Foreign Policy

Tripoli, December 8, 2021 Officials fromLibya withrepresentatives fromthe European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank today launched a Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment (RPBA) that will help to map Libyas post-conflict recovery.

The assessment is aimed at prioritizing what is needed to strengthen core governance and institutions, enable a strong social and economic recovery, promote national reconciliation, establish a national development plan, and coordinate international assistance for Libya in these efforts.

Thirteen Libyan ministries as well as several ministries of state and senior government officials participated in the meeting, which established a Technical Committee to lead the RPBA process. The committee comprised of technical officials from Libyan ministries and government offices together with representatives from the EU, UN and the World Bank, agreed to focus initially on the following six areas:

Background:

Since 2008, the European Union, the United Nations and the World Bank have together assisted countries around the world recovering from conflict-related or natural crises. The Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment supports governments to develop a strategy for prioritizing recovery and peacebuilding activities. It also provides a platform for dialogues with local, national and international stakeholders on conflict resolution and recovery priorities, and it facilitates consensus-building and early planning in an inclusive manner. In the first phase of the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment, national and international experts will collect current quality information and data, that is expected to inform and enable the government to move ahead with the Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment.

The goal of the assessment is to identify, cost and validate short- and long-term recovery and peacebuilding priorities and to outline an implementation plan and financing strategy.

See RPBA Fast Facts

Excerpt from:
EU, UN and World Bank Kick Off Recovery and Peacebuilding Assessment with Libyan Government - Libya - ReliefWeb

The scenes have become commonplace: migrants desperately clinging onto dilapidated dinghies as towering naval ships armed with heavy-duty guns encircle them. Some migrants make it to Europe. Many perish. Thousands are sent back each year to Libya. Back on shore, they are incarcerated in camps where they are vulnerable to sexual violence, torture, arbitrary detention, and human trafficking. Some try their luck on the Mediterranean again. The treacherous journey repeats.

On November 24, far from these scenes of migrant suffering, the prosecutor of the International Criminal Court (ICC) presented a familiar refrain at his bi-annual address to the United Nations Security Council. Karim Khan lamented crimes perpetrated against migrants in Libya, calling them troubling and calling for accountability to march alongside global condemnations.

The prosecutors remarks came in the wake of yet another report from human rights groups imploring the ICC to genuinely investigate atrocities committed against asylum seekers attempting to cross into Europe from the North African state. For years, the court has insisted it will investigate these crimes, only to dither and then re-state its interest in doing so before the Security Council. Enough is enough. It is time to hold accountable all actors involved in abuses against people on the move including European states.

Libya has played a critical but sordid role in helping Europe stave off unwanted asylum seekers. Throughout the 2000s, former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi helped European states ensure people on the move would not use Libya as a launching point to cross the Mediterranean. Western states were happy with the arrangement and Gaddafi was rewarded for doing their dirty work.

In 2008, for example, Italy agreed to invest $5bn in Libya in compensation for its colonisation of the country, although many suspected this was a monetary reward for its continued work in controlling African asylum seekers. Both sides were satisfied while people on the move lived in horrific conditions.

In 2011, Gaddafi fell from power, in large part due to the intervention of those same states that had seen him as a partner in migration control. Following a Security Council referral of Libya to the ICC that same year, the court also issued an arrest warrant for Gaddafi, on allegations of war crimes and crimes against humanity.

In the ensuing regional instability, European states shifted towards another dictator for help, one who had likewise been targeted by the ICC: Sudans Omar al-Bashir. European statesfundeddetention centres for asylum seekers in Sudan despite Sudanese borders beingpatrolledby the same paramilitary group responsible for genocide in Darfur. No one, it seemed, would be held to account for the atrocities perpetrated against desperate people fleeing conflict and economic hardship.

Then, in the middle of the migrant crisis, former Prosecutor of the ICC Fatou Bensouda made a bold declaration: in 2017, she told the Security Council for the first time that her office was eager to investigate crimes against migrants in Libya. She declared that the country had become a marketplace for the trafficking of human beings.

To investigate crimes against migrants would be entirely within the jurisdiction of the court. Not only are the crimes committed against them, such as torture, sexual violence, enslavement, and so on, crimes enumerated in the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, but the institution can prosecute human trafficking as a crime against humanity.

Bensoudas call opened the floodgates. Additional reports and filings were submitted to the ICC detailing harms against migrants. Some groups submitted claims that the EUs deterrence policy towards African people on the move made it complicit in crimes against humanity against migrants. The findings have been added to the ICC prosecutors preliminary examination into Libya.

That refugees put everything on the line just for thechanceto be processed in a European state is a nightmare that European states helped create. Asylum seekers often fork over tens of thousands of dollars to smugglers who promise to bring them to Europe. They pay multiple times the amount that it would cost to board a commercial flight to any European state.

The reason? Western states have ensured that airlines and not immigration officials are responsible for processing and denying asylum seekers before they board. With little other recourse, people fleeing conflict and hardship are corralled to the coasts of North Africa and forced to pay smugglers just to risk everything by attempting to cross the Mediterranean.

Western states also increasingly outsource responsibility for controlling migration to nefarious actors, often in response to losses at human rights courts. In a 2012 landmark decision, the European Court of Human Rights found that the Italian coastguard was obligated to process Eritrean and Somali asylum claimants it had picked up on the Mediterranean. They could not simply dump them back onto Libyan territory.

Put otherwise, if an asylum seeker came under the jurisdiction of a Western state even if it was just by being on a boat controlled by such a state then their claims for asylum had to be processed by that states officials. If they did not, it was a violation of that persons human rights.

In response, European states did change tactics, but not to make matters better for asylum seekers. Instead, European states further outsourced the processing of asylum seekers to private actors, (like airlines) as well as regimes known for abusing such people.

Today, despite dozens ofreportsindicating that the Libyan Coast Guard returns migrants into detention camps where they are vulnerable to torture, rape, murder, and persecution, the EU continues tofundit as a method to control migration.

Despite lofty rhetoric from the current and former ICC prosecutors, there has been no meaningful action to bring perpetrators of crimes against migrants to account. Both Khan and Bensouda have suggested that their focus is on encouraging state cooperation. Getting states like the United Kingdom, Italy, and Libya to work together to disrupt trafficking networks is laudable. But it is not nearly enough. The proof of that is in the continued violation of asylum seeker rights.

It is time for the ICC to walk the walk by opening an investigation specifically into crimes committed against asylum seekers in Libya and the Mediterranean. While the Court is notthesolution to the wanton abuses perpetrated against people on the move, it should be part of one.Acting with courage might require standing up to powerful Western states, something that the current prosecutor appears hesitant to do. But the ICC must be more than just a body targeting weak states and Western enemies; it has a role to play in addressing the excesses of powerful states and protecting the most vulnerable. Nowhere is that more evident than in Libya and the Mediterranean, where crimes against asylum seekers are committed with wholesale impunity.

The views expressed in this article are the authors own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeeras editorial stance.

Excerpt from:
It is time for the ICC to address crimes against asylum seekers - Al Jazeera English