MEMBERSHIP CRITERIA - The Libya INGO forum

Full members

Membership in the INGO Forum is limited to entities that satisfy the following conditions:

Are committed to the humanitarian principles and have adopted the Red Cross/Red Crescent code of conduct.

Are international non-governmental, non-profit, non-partisan, non-political, and non-proselytizing organizations, aiding populations in need.

Conduct activities or are in process of setting up operations along the range of the humanitarian, development, or peacebuilding spectrum, inside Libya.

Are a registered NGO in their home country and can provide formal documentation as required in the LIF Member Application.

Have an annual budget for their Libya response of over 100,000 Euro unless an exception is agreed by at least 2/3 of full LIF members.

An agency may apply to become a full member if they:

– Are registered or in process of being registered as a non-governmental organization with the relevant authorities inside Libya.

– If funds and operations are not secured in Libya, INGOs can apply for observer status.

Observers

Interested agencies can also apply for observer status. The purpose of the Observer Status is to provide a mechanism for the Forum to formally engage with the full range of INGOs in Libya who are interested to coordinate and collaborate, and to ensure that the Forum’s initiatives and messages benefit from the expertise of INGOs who are otherwise not able or eligible to join.
An agency may apply to become an Observer if:

It is affiliated with one of the Forum members but not registered as an independent organization in Libya (information management agencies, research institutes for instance)

Its internal procedures require it to remain independent from formal coordination mechanisms and as long as it fulfils the other criteria for membership set out above (red cross organizations for instance)

It is planning to start operating in Libya, but operations and funding are not yet secured, and the INGO has not started or is just starting the registration process.

Observer members will not be voting members in the CDG or Working Groups, nor will they be eligible to serve on the Steering Committee. Observers may feed in to, but do not have the right to vote on, sign-off on, or object to Forum initiatives or products. Observer organizations are expected to actively participate and respond to Forum initiatives and comply with confidentiality rules.

How to apply

The following documentation must be provided as a part of the application to become a member of LIF:
1. LIF Membership application form/Legal Letter of Declaration
2. Signed letter of interest to join LIF.
3. Bylaws of organization (with English translation)
4. Copy of HQ government determination of non-profit/charity status
5. Report of Humanitarian Relief Activities (annual report or supplement)
6. Two written and signed references, one from a current Full LIF member and another any international, national/local/Libyan NGO (can also be from another LIF full or observer member)
Applications for FULL MEMBERSHIP must also include:
7. Receipt or confirmation of submission of Libyan tax (current or previous year)
8. Confirmation of registration (current and/or next year)

Send a request

Rights and duties

Forum members have the following obligations:

Participate proactively in meetings, coordinate with other Forum members and external stakeholders, and contribute to advocacy initiatives;
Participate in the decision-making and be willing to exert voting rights to elect the Steering Committee.

Discontinuity from general membership will occur in the following cases:

NGOs can voluntarily withdraw from the body at any time. On withdrawing, agencies agree not to use any confidential information gained as a result of access to the forum.
NGOs can have their membership cancelled by a vote of 2/3 of all members, when the actions of a given member are not in line with the By-Laws and are detrimental to the overall efforts of Libya Forum; when a member gives out confidential information shared by Forum members or the Forum Director, to a third party.
When a member has not been participating in the Forum coordination efforts either in attending meetings or contributing to the debates over emails for a period longer than 3 months, the Director will send a kind request to confirm their interest in the forum. In case of no contribution or participation in votes for 6 months, the member will be removed from the Forum until a request to join again.