Rival regions and Libyans from all walks of life are tired of the country being divided and want political actors to agree to hold national elections that would end years of stalemate and mark a key step towards peace in the oil-rich North African country, the UN said.
UNITED NATIONS — Libyans from competing regions and all walks of life are tired of the country’s divisions and want politicians to agree to hold national elections that would end years of stalemate and mark a key step toward peace in the oil-rich North African country, the deputy U.N. envoy said Wednesday.
Stephanie Khoury told the UN Security Council that she had met and listened to political leaders from both eastern and western conflict zones, civil society representatives, academics, women’s groups and military leaders. She said there was agreement that the current “status quo is not sustainable” and that a political process must move forward towards elections.
Libya fell into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The ensuing unrest tore the country apart, with rival governments in the east and west backed by rebels and foreign governments.
The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure of elections to be held on December 24, 2021, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah, who headed a transitional government in the capital, Tripoli, to step down. In response, the eastern-based parliament appointed a rival prime minister, who was suspended from office. The east is now governed by Prime Minister Osama Hamad, with powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter remaining in power.
Khoury, the top U.N. official in Libya since Special Representative Abdoulaye Bassily resigned in April, said many of the Libyans she spoke to suggested the importance of a “deal” or agreement that would ensure rival parties would respect the election results, among other things. They also expressed deep concern over the country’s fragmentation and parallel governments and offered ideas for a roadmap to elections, she said.
“Ordinary Libyans yearn for peace, stability, prosperity and reconciliation while institutional and political divisions deepen,” Khoury said. “With the support of the international community, Libyans need decisive and united action to move the political process forward.”
In February, Mr Bassily warned the country’s rival political factions to quickly form a unity government and go to elections or Libya would fall into “disintegration”.
“The Security Council remains committed to an inclusive, Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process, supported by the United Nations, which should lead to national elections,” the three African members of the Security Council – Sierra Leone, Algeria, Mozambique and Guyana – said in a joint statement on Wednesday.
The four countries called on the opposing political actors to “move away from entrenched institutional and political positions, resolve their differences, reach consensus, and facilitate the holding of national elections.”
US Deputy Ambassador Robert Wood said the US continues to strongly support the UN political mission’s efforts “to bring Libya closer to a viable process towards long-delayed elections.”
“Progress towards greater military integration is key to reaffirming Libya’s sovereignty and preventing Libya from becoming embroiled in regional turmoil,” he said.
Regarding Russia’s actions in Libya, Wood told the committee that the United States recently imposed sanctions on the Russian state-owned company Goznak for “producing counterfeit currency around the world and printing over $1 billion in counterfeit Libyan currency, exacerbating Libya’s economic challenges.”
Libya is under a UN arms embargo, and Wood said the US was “particularly concerned by recent reports that Russian Federation naval vessels are offloading military equipment in Libya.”
Libya’s UN ambassador, Taher El-Souni, who represents the internationally recognised government in the West, stressed that national reconciliation is the only way to rebuild social cohesion and trust between rival factions, unify the country and pave the way for elections.
“We are tired of decades of stalemate and vicious cycles,” he said, “tired of being lectured about what to do and what not to do” and of the Security Council’s inaction.
“We are tired of countries with colonial ambitions and regional powers using Libya as a proxy for their own interests and greedy struggles,” El-Souni said.
He called on the Security Council to “leave Libya alone” and let its people decide their own future and “take their destiny into their own hands.”
