- Updated September 29, 2026
Years Listed
Each shaded box corresponds to a year the country appeared on the CSPA list and what types of waivers it received, if any.
Libya appeared on the CSPA list in 2012 and again in 2020-2021 and 2023-2025. The U.S. president waived, either in part or in full, CSPA prohibitions against the provision of U.S. arms sales and military assistance to Libya for all six years, resulting in the provision of over $170 million in arms sales and military assistance. Specifically, the president waived more than $160 million in Direct Commercial Sales, $949,000 in Foreign Military Financing, $392,000 in International Military Education and Training, and $8.4 million in Section 1206/333 assistance. According to public data, the president has never denied Libya any arms sales or military assistance due to CSPA prohibitions.1These calculations are based upon publicly available data. See the ‘Methodology’ page for an in-depth review of the Tracker’s methodology and sources.
Total Waived and Prohibited
Since the CSPA took effect.
During Libya’s 2011 civil war, the armed forces of Muammar Qadhafi and other pro-regime elements allegedly recruited and used child soldiers, as did the armed forces of the Transitional National Council, Libya’s de facto government following Qadhafi’s ouster.2Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 (Country Narratives: J-M (PDF)), pp. 224, https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/index.htm (https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/192596.pdf). Additionally, approximately 6,500 children identified themselves as “revolutionaries” following the war, some of whom may have supported militias during the war.3Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya,” Trafficking in Persons Report 2012 (Country Narratives: J-M (PDF)), pp. 224, https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2012/index.htm (https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/192596.pdf). Following these reports, Libya was added to the CSPA list in 2012. While there were a few isolated reports of children carrying weapons and manning checkpoints during the reporting period for the 2013 CSPA list, their affiliation to an armed group or government force remained unclear.4Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2013, pp. 238, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/210740.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/). Therefore, Libya was not included on the 2013 list nor any subsequent list until 2020.
Libya’s reappearance on the 2020 CSPA list followed reports that the Special Deterrence Force, a paramilitary police force nominally operating under the command of Libya’s UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA), used and recruited child soldiers.5Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2013, pp. 540, https://2009-2017.state.gov/documents/organization/210740.pdf (https://2009-2017.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2013/). Libya remained on the CSPA list in 2021 after an international organization verified that GNA and GNA-aligned armed groups recruited and used child soldiers between April 2020 and March 2021, the reporting period for the 2021 CSPA list.6Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, pp. 613, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/libya/).
In March 2021, a UN-led process established the Libyan Government of National Unity (GNU). However, the GNU has not been able to effectively govern much of Libya, which remains outside its control. During the reporting period for the 2022 CSPA list, the GNU did not report taking any steps to prevent the recruitment and use of child soldiers in the country, and observers continued to report government complicity in human trafficking. Although the U.S. State Department noted that “various armed groups, militias, and criminal networks infiltrated the administrative ranks of the government and abused their positions to engage in […] alleged unlawful child soldier recruitment and use,” Libya was not included in the 2022 CSPA list.7Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya – Government Efforts,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 601, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/libya/).
Libya reappeared on the CSPA list in 2023 and has continued to be listed through 2024 and 2025 following reports that armed groups that operate under the government coordinated with and provided support to factions of the Syrian National Army, an armed group that recruited and used Syrian children as child soldiers in combat and support roles in Syria and in support roles in Libya, between April 2022 and March 2025.8Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2023, https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-trafficking-in-persons-report/libya/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, https://www.state.gov/reports/2024-trafficking-in-persons-report/libya/.; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Libya – Trafficking Profile,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/libya/.
Since 2021, U.S. presidents have been required to include justifications for CSPA waivers that were issued during the previous year in the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. Libya’s 9Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report on the Use of Child Soldiers,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2021, pp. 631, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/TIPR-GPA-upload-07222021.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/).; Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers Under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2022, pp. 617, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/20221020-2022-TIP-Report.pdf (https://www.state.gov/reports/2022-trafficking-in-persons-report/libya/). Libya’s 2023 waiver asserted that “IMET assistance will facilitate English language proficiency to improve interoperability and promote civil-military relations, including civilian control of a unified military. NSEA assistance will build upon the October 2020 ceasefire and support U.N. efforts to advance Libya’s transition to a unified, democratically elected, and inclusive political system based on respect for human rights. NSEA provides the U.S. government a tool to support UNSMIL in its ceasefire monitoring function. Department of Defense support will build the capacity of Libyan military institutions in support of progress towards civilian-controlled, accountable, defense institutions that uphold human rights, combat terrorism, and address security challenges.”10Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2024, pp. 82, https://www.state.gov/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/TIP-Report-2024_Introduction_V10_508-accessible_2.13.2025.pdf. The 2024 waiver maintained similar language, with the addition that “DCS licenses will support the repair, servicing, and, when necessary, disposal of aging Libyan-owned C-130s that have utility in humanitarian operations.”11Note: Government of the United States, U.S. Department of State. “Annual Report to Congress on the Use of Child Soldiers under Section 405(c) of the Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008,” in Trafficking in Persons Report 2025, https://www.state.gov/reports/2025-trafficking-in-persons-report/.
For more information, see the U.S. State Department’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report and 2024 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Further information on the situation in Libya can also be found in the UN Secretary-General’s 2025 Annual Report on Children and Armed Conflict.
Explore the Data
Country- and program-level data on the number and type of national interest waivers granted, as well as the amount of arms sales and military assistance waived.
