The UNICEF signed last Thursday a new partnership with Libyan Wings Airlines, which the U.N. agency says it aims to “support UNICEF through a series of events and publications which will reflect upon UNICEF’s legacy of impact,” according to a statement by the agency.
“Through our partnership with Libyan Wings Airlines, we are looking forward to leveraging the strengths of the cooperate sector on behalf of the children and young people in Libya including awareness on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child,” said Cristina Brugiolo, UNICEF Deputy Special Representative to Libya.
The deal also aims to “highlight its current ground-breaking work and advocacy priorities in vaccine delivery, education, and child protection.”
It is noteworthy that Libyan Wings is reportedly owned by Abdelhakim Belhaj, an infamous islamist fighter who formerly led the designated terrorist group Libyan Islamic Fighting Group.
Several news media outlets, including Sky News Arabia and French radio RFI, previously reported that the airline company was used by Belhaj to transfer Syrian fighters in and out of Libya during 2019-2020.