I 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 1228 
To advance a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Libya and support the 
people of Libya. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 23, 2021 
Mr. DEUTCH (for himself, Mr. WILSON of South Carolina, Mr. LIEU, and Mr. 
MALINOWSKI) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
Committee on Foreign Affairs, and in addition to the Committees on the 
Judiciary, and Financial Services, for a period to be subsequently deter-
mined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 
as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 
A BILL 
To advance a diplomatic solution to the conflict in Libya 
and support the people of Libya. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 
(a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 
‘‘Libya Stabilization Act’’. 
(b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 
this Act is as follows: 
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 
Sec. 2. Findings; statement of policy. 
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TITLE I—IDENTIFYING CHALLENGES TO STABILITY IN LIBYA 
Sec. 101. Report on activities of certain foreign governments and actors in 
Libya. 
Sec. 102. Report of Russian activities and objectives in Libya. 
Sec. 103. Determination of sanctionable activities of the Libyan National Army 
with respect to Syria. 
TITLE II—ACTIONS TO ADDRESS FOREIGN INTERVENTION IN 
LIBYA 
Sec. 201. Sanctions with respect to foreign persons leading, directing, or sup-
porting certain foreign government involvement in Libya. 
Sec. 202. Sanctions with respect to foreign persons threatening the peace or 
stability of Libya. 
Sec. 203. Sanctions with respect to foreign persons who are responsible for or 
complicit in gross violations of internationally recognized 
human rights committed in Libya. 
Sec. 204. Sanctions described. 
Sec. 205. Waiver. 
Sec. 206. Implementation and regulatory authority. 
Sec. 207. Exception relating to importation of goods. 
Sec. 208. Definitions. 
Sec. 209. Suspension of sanctions. 
Sec. 210. Sunset. 
TITLE III—ASSISTANCE FOR LIBYA 
Sec. 301. Humanitarian relief for the people of Libya and international refu-
gees and migrants in Libya. 
Sec. 302. Support for democratic governance, elections, and civil society. 
Sec. 303. Engaging international financial institutions to advance Libyan eco-
nomic recovery and improve public sector financial manage-
ment. 
Sec. 304. Recovering assets stolen from the Libyan people. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS; STATEMENT OF POLICY. 
(a) FINDINGS.—Congress makes the following find-
ings: 
(1) The stability and territorial unity of Libya 
is critical to the security of the United States, Eu-
rope, North Africa, and the Sahel, as well as mari-
time routes in the southern Mediterranean Sea. 
(2) 
United 
States 
Africa 
Command 
(AFRICOM) has identified containing instability in 
Libya as one of its six main lines of effort in Africa 
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and works to support diplomatic efforts to reconsti-
tute the Libyan State and to disrupt terrorist orga-
nizations that impede that process or threaten 
United States interests. 
(3) According to the Defense Intelligence Agen-
cy, the Islamic State in Libya (ISIS-Libya) is ‘‘de-
graded’’. However, AFRICOM continues to ‘‘keep 
pressure on ISIS and other violent extremist organi-
zations as they seek to take advantage of the secu-
rity vacuum created by the civil war in Libya’’. 
(4) On April 4, 2019, Khalifa Haftar, the com-
mander of the Libyan National Army (LNA) or-
dered forces loyal to him to begin a unilateral mili-
tary operation to take control of Tripoli, the capital 
of Libya and seat of the Government of National Ac-
cord (GNA), an interim body that emerged from 
previous United Nations-backed negotiations which 
the United States Government and the United Na-
tions Security Council have recognized since 2015. 
(5) During the fighting, both the LNA, the 
GNA, and their associated forces failed to observe 
their obligations under international humanitarian 
law, increased the geographic scope of the conflict in 
Libya, recruited foreign mercenaries, and intensified 
ground and air campaigns using heavy weapons, air-
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craft, and reportedly using armed drones provided 
by foreign powers. 
(6) According to the United Nations, since the 
LNA offensive began in April 2019, the conflict in 
Libya has led to the deaths of more than 500 civil-
ians and the displacement of more than 200,000 
people. 
(7) Parties to the conflict in Libya have killed 
civilians, committed torture and abuse, committed 
mass extrajudicial killings, requisitioned the houses 
of civilians, targeted medical facilities, and blocked 
humanitarian access to food, health, and other life- 
saving services, worsening humanitarian conditions. 
(8) According to the United Nations, as of No-
vember 2020, more than 574,000 migrants and refu-
gees remained in Libya and the ‘‘continued arbitrary 
detention of migrants and refugees in formal deten-
tion centers and at informal smuggler sites remains 
a critical concern in Libya’’. Migrants and refugees, 
including women and children, are routinely sub-
jected to discrimination, arrest, arbitrary detention, 
torture and other human rights violations and 
abuses. The United Nations has called for the imme-
diate release, evacuation, and protection of refugees 
and migrants detained in conflict zones. 
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(9) In November 2019, the GNA and the Gov-
ernment of Turkey signed a Memorandum of Under-
standing on maritime boundaries in the Mediterra-
nean Sea. 
(10) A November 2020 Department of Defense 
Inspector General report estimated there are ap-
proximately 2,000 mercenary forces affiliated with 
the Wagner Group, a Russian private military com-
pany, as well as approximately 2,000 Russian- 
backed Syrian fighters, advanced equipment, and ad-
vanced capabilities supporting the LNA and Russian 
objectives in North Africa. 
(11) The most recent AFRICOM posture state-
ment claims, ‘‘Russia continues to harvest benefits 
from the instability in Libya—its military meddling 
has prolonged the conflict and exacerbated casualties 
and humanitarian suffering.’’. 
(12) The Department of Defense Inspector 
General reported that, ‘‘Turkey has hundreds of reg-
ular military personnel deployed to Libya in order to 
train GNA-aligned militias and to operate Turkish 
military equipment’’ and sent thousands of Syrian 
mercenaries to Libya in support of the GNA. 
(13) On January 19, 2020, at a peace con-
ference in Berlin, representatives of the Govern-
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ments of Algeria, China, Egypt, France, Germany, 
Italy, Russia, Turkey, the Republic of Congo, the 
United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and 
the United States, as well as regional and multilat-
eral organizations, agreed to refrain from inter-
ference in Libya’s internal affairs, abide by the 
United Nations arms embargo, and advance a 55- 
point communique to resolve the conflict in Libya. 
(14) On February 13, 2020, the United Na-
tions Security Council adopted Resolution 2510, 
which endorses the Conclusions of the International 
Conference on Libya held in Berlin, affirms the need 
for a lasting ceasefire, demands full compliance by 
all member states with the United Nations arms em-
bargo, and expresses unequivocal support for the 
United Nations Special Representative and the ongo-
ing United Nations Support Mission in Libya 
(UNSMIL)-facilitated intra-Libyan dialogue. 
(15) On October 23, 2020, the warring parties 
in Libya agreed a ceasefire, which called for the 
withdrawal of all armed forces from conflict lines 
and the departure of all mercenaries and foreign 
fighters within three months, and was hailed by 
United Nations Secretary General Anto´nio Guterres 
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as ‘‘a fundamental step toward peace and stability 
in Libya’’. 
(16) At a November 2020 meeting of the Liby-
an Political Dialogue Forum, under the auspices of 
UNSMIL, participants agreed on a roadmap to 
credible, inclusive, and democratic national elections 
to be held in December 2021. 
(17) On December 2, 2020, United Nations 
Acting Special Representative Stephanie Williams 
asserted that, despite repeated international agree-
ments, 20,000 foreign fighters remain in Libya 
which represents ‘‘a serious crisis’’ and ‘‘a shocking 
violation of Libyan sovereignty’’. 
(18) On December 29, 2020, United Nations 
Secretary General Guterres recommended that inter-
national monitors deploy to Libya under United Na-
tions auspices to observe the October 2020 ceasefire, 
warned that military activities by forces supporting 
the warring parties and military cargo flights contin-
ued to impede the ceasefire, and urged implementa-
tion of the United Nations arms embargo. 
(19) On January 21, 2021, the United States 
joined the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, 
and the United Kingdom to remind all Berlin Con-
ference participants of the need to ‘‘continue to sup-
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port a ceasefire, restore full respect for the UN arms 
embargo, and end the toxic foreign interference that 
undermines the aspirations of all Libyans to reestab-
lish their sovereignty and choose their future peace-
fully through national elections’’. 
(20) On February 5, 2021, the Libyan Political 
Dialogue Forum voted to select a new unified execu-
tive authority charged with leading the country until 
elections on December 21, 2021, an important mile-
stone in the Libyan political process. 
(21) On February 5, 2021, the United States 
and the Governments of France, Germany, Italy, 
and the United Kingdom jointly called ‘‘on all cur-
rent Libyan authorities and actors to ensure a 
smooth and constructive handover of all competences 
and duties to the new unified executive authority’’. 
(b) STATEMENT OF POLICY.—It is the policy of the 
United States— 
(1) to advance a peaceful resolution to the con-
flict in Libya through a United Nations-facilitated 
Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process as the 
best way to secure United States interests and to 
ensure the sovereignty, independence, territorial in-
tegrity, and national unity of Libya; 
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(2) to support the implementation of United 
Nations Security Council Resolutions 1970 (2011) 
and 1973 (2011), which established an arms embar-
go on Libya, and subsequent resolutions modifying 
and extending the embargo; 
(3) to enforce Executive Order 13726 (81 Fed. 
Reg. 23559; relating to blocking property and sus-
pending entry into the United States of persons con-
tributing to the situation in Libya (April 19, 2016)), 
designed to target individuals or entities who 
‘‘threaten the peace, security, and stability of 
Libya’’; 
(4) to oppose attacks on civilians, medical work-
ers, and critical infrastructure, including water sup-
plies, in Libya, and to support accountability for 
those engaged in such heinous actions; 
(5) to support Libya’s sovereignty, independ-
ence, territorial integrity, and national unity con-
sistent with United Nations Security Council Resolu-
tion 2510 (2020) and all predecessor resolutions 
with respect to Libya, including by— 
(A) taking action to end the violence and 
flow of arms; 
(B) rejecting attempts by any party to il-
licitly export Libya’s oil; and 
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(C) urging the withdrawal of foreign mili-
tary and mercenary forces; 
(6) to leverage diplomatic relations to convince 
the parties to the conflict in Libya to maintain the 
current ceasefire and persuade foreign powers to 
stop providing personnel, including mercenaries, 
weapons, and financing that threaten to reignite the 
conflict; 
(7) to support the Libyan Political Dialogue 
and advance the inclusive Libyan-led and Libyan- 
owned political process under the auspices of 
UNSMIL; 
(8) to support a negotiated and peaceful polit-
ical solution that includes a single, unified, inclusive, 
and effective Libyan Government approved by the 
Libyan House of Representatives, the end of a tran-
sitional period achieved through free, fair, inclusive, 
and credible elections, a fair and transparent alloca-
tion of resources, interim security arrangements, 
and a process for the reunification of Libyan govern-
ment ministries and Libyan sovereign institutions, 
including the Central Bank of Libya, the National 
Oil Corporation, and the Libyan Investment Author-
ity; 
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(9) to support constant, unimpeded, and reli-
able humanitarian access to those in need and to 
hold accountable those who impede or threaten the 
delivery of humanitarian assistance; 
(10) to advocate for the immediate release and 
safe evacuations of detained refugees and migrants 
trapped by the fighting in Libya; 
(11) 
to 
encourage 
implementation 
of 
UNSMIL’s plan for the organized and gradual clo-
sure of migrant detention centers in Libya; 
(12) to support greater defense institutional ca-
pacity building after a comprehensive political settle-
ment; 
(13) to support current and future democratic 
and economic development; and 
(14) to discourage all parties from heightening 
tensions in the region, through unhelpful and pro-
vocative actions. 
TITLE 
I—IDENTIFYING 
CHAL-
LENGES 
TO 
STABILITY 
IN 
LIBYA 
SEC. 101. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF CERTAIN FOREIGN 
GOVERNMENTS AND ACTORS IN LIBYA. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 90 days after the 
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of State, 
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