 | |
| Abbreviation | GICDF |
|---|---|
| Formation | 1998 |
| Dissolved | 2011 |
| Type | NGO |
| Legal status | Foundation |
| Purpose | Volunteering Human Rights Poverty |
| Headquarters | Madinat Saleh Street,Tripoli, Libya |
Region served | Worldwide |
President | Saif al-Islam Gaddafi |
Main organ | Executive committee |
| Website | http://gicdf.org/ |
TheGaddafi International Charity and Development Foundation (GICDF,Arabic:مؤسسة القذافي العالمية للجمعيات الخيرية والتنمية), known also as GIFCA, was an internationalnon-governmental organisation (NGO) with headquarters formerly located in theLibyan capitalTripoli and offices inChad,Germany, thePhilippines andSudan.[1] GICDF was established in 1998[2] upon signature of its charter inGeneva,Switzerland. The president of the Foundation wasSaif al-Islam Gaddafi, a son of the former Libyan leaderMuammar Gaddafi.
Elected by the Foundation's executive committee, the executive director was Yousef Swani who oversaw GICDF's seven subsidiaries, each of which had its own management. The subsidiary societies of GIFCA were:
GICDF's objectives were:
The Gaddafi International Foundation intervened in various hostage situations involvingIslamic militants and, most notably, the crisis of theHIV trial in Libya and the resultingEuropean Union-Libyanrapprochement.[3] In January 2004, GIFCA was instrumental in resolving the compensation issue in relation to the 1989 bombing ofUTA Flight 772 when it concluded an agreement with the UTA relatives organisation"Les Familles du DC10 d'UTA"[4] to pay $1 million to each of the 170 victims' families. Interviewed by French newspaperLe Figaro on 7 December 2007 GIFCA's presidentSaif al-Islam Gaddafi said that the Libyans convicted for thePan Am Flight 103 and the UTA Flight 772 bombings "are innocent". When asked if Libya would therefore seek reimbursement of the compensation paid to the families of the victims ($2.33 billion in total), Gaddafi replied: "I don't know."[5]
The Gaddafi International Foundation's donations to the London School of Economics have been a source of controversy.[6] In February 2011, LSE students occupied their university[7] in response toMuammar Gaddafi's alleged repressive measures taken against Libyan people.[8] As a result of theLSE Gaddafi links's affair, LSE's director Sir Howard Davies resigned from the School on 3 March.[9]
