I see a homeland where we secure our children, our families, our property and our lives; a homeland where we do not have to fear that our rights will be taken away, our homes destroyed, or we are fought because of our identity or beliefs, or be arrested simply for words that we say or opinions that we write. I see a homeland where we do not fear reprisals because we expressed our political or religious beliefs, or even our tribal affiliations.

I look forward to Libya being a society at ease with itself—reconciled with itself—in which citizens renounce the language of violence, let go of hatred and grudges, and keep the goal of achieving national unity and moving our country forward in front of them. That is the only way for us to move towards a bright future, because if we do not, our country will be paralyzed with continued chaos, slipping back into totalitarianism, or our country will simply turn into a failed state.

Stability will be achieved only if the voice of reason gains prominence, if guns are silenced, and people stop shooting at each other. We urgently need to stabilize the ceasefire agreement developed so hard by the 5+5 Joint Military Committee, and end all manifestations of fighting to create a fertile ground for inclusive national dialogue.

I will seek to make Libya a country where differences are resolved through dialogue. It is our greatest need to end the state of war and to move towards reconciliation and inclusive national dialogue. Our vast country is characterized by pluralism and diversity, so how can we not bring together national dialogues? What is happening today are just individual lawyers talking about national dialogues; just individual dialogues in which we do not see any efforts at understanding one another, and in which we find only intolerance, lack of mutual respect, and the lack of acceptance of the opinion of the other. In such national dialogues, the minds of the interlocutors do not converge, and their hearts do not coexist—they just maneuver politically.

We need to establish a comprehensive dialogue based on Libya’s sovereignty as a national state and to promote this dialogue to reach a consensus that includes all groups. We need to understand and respect each other, and to make dialogue a cornerstone of a free and democratic Libya that is based on recovery from its crises.

I want to make Libya a safe and secure country with strong and unified security institutions that has trained and equipped security personnel at the highest level, with respect for and protection of human rights and life. I will ensure that the security forces in Libya are composed of efficient and disciplined members; their command structure is controlled by the state and under the oversight of civil authorities, and its members are selected on non-ideological national grounds, and includes all Libyans from different tribes and colors of the Libyan spectrum. I will ensure they are deployed throughout the country to protect people’s lives, property, communities, infrastructure, and the capabilities of the Libyan state. We need to prevent the exploitation and abuse of security functions to oppress and bully people. We shall adopt sound and transparent policies governing the functioning of central and local police, disaster management and national security operations.

In Libya, we need to deploy security forces to guard our thousands of kilometers of borders to prevent human trafficking, and the smuggling of illicit drugs, weapons and subsidized goods.

Achieving justice before a fair and impartial judiciary also requires a commitment to restore prestige to the judiciary in Libya. We need to restore public confidence in our justice system, to resolve disputes and extrajudicial prosecution of offenders through the establishment of a strong and independent judicial system that protects the legal rights for all citizens, and where criminals are tried fairly in accordance with the laws of the country.

Support Aref’s Vision for a Safe Libya

Aref Nayed believes in a Libya where we can all live without fear and our human rights are protected by effective justice and security institutions. Add your name to support Aref Nayed’s vision to move Libya forward by ending our country’s conflict through peaceful dialogue and rebuilding security institutions.