World for Libya

World for Libya
Formation	14 June 2011
Type	charity?
Interest of	Declan Hayes

The background header image of the First World for Libya website.

The flag of the Kingdom of Libya (1951-1969), reinstated by the rebels

World For Libya is a UK registered charity incorporated on 14 Jun 2011. Its 2011 report states that it has offices in Tripoli, Misrata and Banghazi. Its stated aims are to "relieve sickness and to promote and project good health through provision of medical aid, medical infrastructure and logistics and the provision of training to doctors and other healthcare professionals and ancilliary staff that are needed to ensure a broad and comprehensive health care system, education for Libyans and the relief of financial hardship for refugees and other displaced Libyans.".

Relationship With the Libyan Rebels

According to the UK charity commission, "an organisation cannot be a charity if it has a 'political purpose'." As a UK charity, World For Libya is therefore explicitly prohibited from "furthering the interests of a particular political party" or from "securing or opposing any change in the law, whether in the UK or overseas".

Logo

The charity's logo clearly bears a remarkable similarity to the Libyan flag reinstated by the Libyan rebels, and their website is covered with the flag, an indication that the charity aligned itself firmly with the rebels.

Relationship to Hand in Hand for Syria

Full article: Hand in Hand for Syria

World For Libya has no known acknowledged connection to Hand In Hand For Syria, a UK charity registered 8 months later. However, the parallels are striking:- both sport logos indicative of a political affiliation to the rebel group in which they were set up. Moreover, they have both have been assisted by independent film maker Saleyha Ahsan. She reports this connection to be coincidental, writing that it "was by some bizarre fluke that returning home from that first short trip [to Libya] that I sat next to Nader Elhamessi, a Libyan, a Londoner for many years and one of the founders of the aid organization World for Libya"

Relationship to World Medical Camp Libya

Nader Elhamessi, mentioned by Saleyha Ahsan as a founder of World for Libya, is also reported as having an affiliation to "World Medical Camp Libya", reported by The Guardian as "a charity set up in the UK on 22 February [2011] to provide aid within the country." This group, like World for Libya, had a website liberally sprinkled with the colours and logo of the rebels' flag and its "About" page, signed by "DR A. S." declared its goal as "Coordinating and streamlining the humanitarian relief to Libyans in and outside our beloved country." The website domain has since lapsed and its now cybersquatted, but archived copies remain available. Doubts have been expressed by Russ Baker and others about the integrity of this institution and its reporting of Gaddafi's atrocities.

Internet (In)Activity

The domain name "WorldForLibya.org" was registered on 20 May 2011. The site's homepage has been broken since at least October 2013, but the File:WorldForLibyaOverview.pdf is available nonetheless. The twitter account was last used on July 5th, 2012.

Funding

The organisation reported a 2012 income of £765,060, and an expenditure of £564,800. For 2013, the figures were £5,651 income for an expenditure of £53,582. Notable donations included:

• £30,000 (in 2011) from the British Arab Commercial Bank
• "Proud and active sponsor[ship]" from EDGO (privately held engineering company operating in the Middle East)