UN envoy says Libya will slide into `disintegration’ if politicians don’t move toward elections

UNITED NATIONS — The UN special envoy to Libya warned the country’s warring political actors on Thursday that if they do not urgently form a unified government and move towards elections, the oil-rich North African nation will slide into “disintegration”.

Abdoulaye Bathily told the UN Security Council that there are numerous alarming signs of such a decline and urged all political leaders to put aside “their self-interest” and come together to negotiate and reach a compromise “to ensure the dignity of their motherland”. €

“The reluctance to do so casts doubt not only on their commitment to the elections, but also on the unity and future of their country, for which they must be held accountable,” he said.

Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. In the chaos that followed, the country split, with rival governments in the east and west, backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.

The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections on December 24, 2021 and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah – who led a transitional government in the capital Tripoli – to step down. .

In response, Libya’s eastern parliament appointed a rival prime minister, Fathy Bashagha, but suspended him last May. Powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter continues to hold sway in the east.

Bathily told the council that in his latest talks with the key players, none of them have deviated from their original position and that each of them has set the conditions for participating in negotiations to resolve outstanding disputed issues that would pave the way to the long-awaited elections free up.

He pointed to the intransigence of Dbeibah, Hifter, speaker of the eastern-based House of Representatives Agila Saleh, and of Mohamed Takala, chairman of the Supreme Council of State, who has played a key role in the country’s election laws.

The UN envoy urged the rival players to lift the ban on the activities of the Supreme National Electoral Commission so that local elections can take place in 97 municipalities across the country this year.

Bathily also said that the Security Council and the broader international community “must play a crucial role in putting pressure on the Libyan parties to act constructively” and urged them to come up with a coordinated and unified approach to to press for presidential and parliamentary elections.

Across Libya, he said, people are frustrated by the status quo and the inability of key political players to “do what is necessary to put the country on the path to lasting peace and progress.”

He also expressed growing concern about rivalry between “security actors” seeking control over more territory in the capital Tripoli, and about the human rights and humanitarian situation of migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. And he said: “I remain alarmed by the ongoing collective expulsions of migrants and refugees across the borders between Libya and neighboring countries.”

Robert Wood, deputy US ambassador, said the United States is “alarmed by the activities of armed groups in Libya, which operate with impunity and have continued influence over Libyan security and politics.”

These groups violate human rights and international humanitarian law, including causing deaths, injuries and displacement of hundreds of civilians, he said. He added that there are also “allegations of unlawful detentions to suppress perceived civil dissent and attacks on civil society.”

Wood said the United States is pushing for steps to reunite the country’s divided military, which could help “reduce crime in the South, secure the country’s borders and prevent the spread of regional unrest.”

The US is also calling on Libyan political leaders to nominate representatives for UN-facilitated preparatory talks “aimed at addressing the core issues that continue to hinder elections,” he said.

Regionally, Wood said, the United States is monitoring the destabilizing impact on Libya of the situations in Niger, Chad, Sudan and Mali — “including the movement of foreign fighters and rampant arms trafficking.”

He cited the “destabilizing activities” of Russia’s Wagner Group, which he called “a transnational criminal organization.” It is reportedly active in all these countries and also in the Central African Republic.

Russian Deputy Ambassador Dmitry Polyansky expressed hope that the rival political parties will soon reach an agreement on organizing elections, telling the council “the status quo has lasted far too long” and it is time for the country a truly inclusive government.