Inability to access pre-displacement housing, land and property poses a significant obstacle to the achievement of durable solutions for most IDPs in Libya. Displacement and dispossession cannot be separated from the legacy of the Gaddafi era.

With Tunisia experiencing wide-ranging political, social and economic change, there is an imperative need to alleviate the burden of hosting people fleeing Libya who are unable to return to their countries of origin.

Tunisian people, rather than their government, led the response to the humanitarian crisis when Libyans started their own revolt and people starting fleeing across the border.

When evacuated Bangladeshi migrants arrived home, the government, civil society, international organisations and the private sector cooperated to help them.

Migrants left Libya in haste and in fear for their lives. A rapid international response saved lives and facilitated the return home but a premature return may have some unwelcome repercussions.

The large-scale displacement associated with the recent popular uprisings in North Africa both reinforces and challenges the role of legal protection mechanisms.

While the phenomenon of 'mixed migratory flows' has long been recognised, this was the first time it applied to a large-scale displacement. It required a coordinated humanitarian response for a large and diverse group of displaced persons.

The Arab Spring has not radically transformed migration patterns in the Mediterranean, and the label 'migration crisis' does not do justice to the composite and stratified reality.

Broadening our perspective, remarks from the IOM Director General.

Positive lessons from the Arab Spring.