Advocates, implementers or allies? : NGOs between humanitarian borderwork and migration management in Libya

This article explores the complex terrain non-government organisations (NGOs) navigate when working in humanitarian borderwork on migration management programs in transit sites. Drawing on the example of Libya it shows the scope and challenges for NGOs working in transit sites and aims to advance understanding of what it means to work within migration management structures. International and local NGOs and CSOs are deeply involved in migration management programs often as implementing partners to UN agencies and in receipt of sizeable grants. This article illustrates how NGOs in Libya, one of the most prominent transit sites, navigate their dual roles as migration managers and humanitarian actors. It draws on desk-based research, policy analysis and interviews conducted with Libyans actors working on migration alongside observations from the author based on their first-hand field experience in Libya that demonstrates the in-between relationship that has resulted in NGOs becoming advocates, implementers and allies. It highlights a gap in research about the intersection between humanitarian borderwork and migration management in transit sites, the importance of understanding the particularity of the transit context and the implications of this work for NGOs in general given the growing demands to work in transit sites within migration management schemes.