UN Libya envoy warns Security Council political deadlock threatens state unity

Briefing the Council in New York, the Particular Consultant of the Secretary-Basic stated that regardless of energetic UN engagement, the Libyan Home of Representatives (the nationwide parliament) and the Excessive Council of State (the nation’s prime advisory political physique) have did not make progress on the primary steps of the agreed political roadmap, together with establishing a mechanism to pick out the board of the Excessive Nationwide Elections Fee (HNEC) and advancing electoral laws.

“Their incapability to make use of their agreed mechanism and follow-on unilateral actions has additional eroded their credibility,” she stated, noting that Libyan public perceptions mirror a rising perception that the our bodies are “unable or unwilling” to ship.

Ms. Tetteh stated she has begun consultations with key actors on another two-step strategy geared toward restoring momentum. Ought to a smaller group of Libyan representatives fail to agree on the roadmap’s milestones, she warned, a broader convening can be required. “We can’t wait indefinitely,” she emphasised.

Judicial divide

The UN envoy issued a stark warning about escalating tensions inside Libya’s judicial system.

After the Home of Representatives established a Supreme Constitutional Court docket in Benghazi in 2023, it started issuing rulings parallel to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court docket in Tripoli, creating conflicting judgements on key constitutional and legislative issues.

“These contradictory, parallel judicial choices put into jeopardy the unity of the authorized and judicial programs,” Ms. Tetteh declared, cautioning that the scenario “is a crimson line that if crossed can undermine the unity of the state.”

She urged Libyan leaders to chorus from additional escalatory steps and known as on the Council to carry accountable these taking actions that threaten to fracture the judiciary.

Financial pressures deepening

Libyans are dealing with worsening dwelling situations pushed by forex devaluation, rising costs and chronic gasoline shortages, the envoy reported.

The Central Financial institution’s determination in January to devalue the dinar for the second time in 9 months — by almost 15 per cent — goals to ease foreign-currency pressures however is “impacting the buying energy of weak households,” she stated.

With parallel establishments working with out a unified finances, public spending stays “inflexible and largely unproductive”. Almost 80 per cent of expenditures are consumed by salaries and subsidies, leaving little house for funding or restoration efforts, she added.

Whereas latest licensing agreements within the hydrocarbon sector recommend a level of renewed investor curiosity, they’re unlikely to alleviate fiscal pressures this yr.

Security and human rights issues

Ms. Tetteh warned that transnational legal networks proceed to increase, turning Libya into a serious transit hub for drug trafficking and sustaining illicit economies linked to corruption and armed teams.

A joint report issued on 17 February by the Excessive Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Help Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) highlighted extreme abuses related to human trafficking. In latest weeks, the our bodies of 21 migrants have been present in a mass grave in Ajdabiya, whereas greater than 400 others — together with ladies and youngsters — have been free of detention websites bearing indicators of torture.

“These incidents are usually not remoted,” she stated, urging Libyan authorities and worldwide companions to dismantle trafficking networks and convey perpetrators to justice.

Ms. Tetteh additionally famous ongoing focused killings, referencing the loss of life of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was topic to an Worldwide Prison Court docket (ICC) arrest warrant, in early February. She known as for a clear investigation.

“The one method ahead is a political answer”

Closing her briefing, Ms. Tetteh warned that deteriorating financial situations, rising poverty and a fragile safety setting may set off “surprising political and safety challenges”.

“The principle explanation for this dysfunction,” she stated, “is a divided authorities, with restricted coordination and unilateral actions on each side.”

She urged all Libyan actors — supported by coordinated worldwide engagement — to return to a political course of able to restoring unified governance. “The help of this Council stays a prerequisite for fulfillment,” she concluded.