“What is urgent is the political will to break the protracted political deadlock and make progress on many fronts,” UN Secretary General António Guterres said at the latest meeting of the High Commission on Libya, which took place in Addis Ababa.
Progress is essential towards holding elections and promote achievements in security, national reconciliation and human rightshe said, adding that the UN remains committed to Libyan-owned and Libyan-led solutions.
Priority areas for action
Noting that the UN was “fully committed to correcting past misunderstandings”, he outlined priority areas for action.
“We have no agenda and no goal but one: ARRIVE guarantee the right of the Libyan people to live in peace, to vote in free and fair electionsand to share in the prosperity of their country,” he said.
The challenges are dire. A United Nations human rights fact-finding investigation in late January included testimony about extrajudicial killings, torture, arbitrary detention, forced disappearance, human trafficking, displacement in water and the existence of mass burial sites.
Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, who has led Libya since 1969, the oil-rich country has struggled with many crises And rival government – a United Nations-recognized National Accord Government, based in the capital, Tripoli, and the so-called Libyan National Army based in the east.
‘There are no alternatives to elections’
In December 2021, legal disputes and other challenges forced the cancellation of historic presidential and parliamentary elections. To address this pressing issue, the Secretary-General said his Special Representative has been working with Libyan parties and international partners. to agree on a constitutional basis for elections at the end of February.
“I share the growing frustration of the Libyan people,” the secretary-general said. “The no elections exacerbates economic insecurity, increases political instabilityrisking new conflicts and increasing the specter of division.
But, no deal, United Nationsworking closely with Libya’s key stakeholders, the African Union and international partners, should propose and pursue alternative mechanisms towards finding solutions, he said.
“There is no substitute for elections,” he said. “They remain the only reliable path to unified, legitimate governance.”
UN Secretary-General António Guterres addresses the African Union High Commission on Libya.
‘Instruments of hope’
Meanwhile, the 2020 truce remains in place, he said, praising progress on security challenges. Efforts include the work of “5+5” Joint Military Commissionconvened by his Special Representative, representing “an instrument of hope for all Libyans”, he said, as well as the involvement and support of the African Union.
Withdraw foreign fighters
“The next priority of the Joint Military Commission must be the complete withdrawal of foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya,” he said, reiterating that outside intervention had pushed Libya into conflict. .
welcome recent meeting in Cairo between the military commission and representatives of Libya, Sudan and NigerHe said the decision to create a coordination and information sharing committee marked “an important step towards greater stability and peace in Libya and the wider region”.
advance National reconciliation is also a priorityhe said, pointing to the AU’s ongoing efforts to support an inclusive process.
Concerns about human rights
Outlining serious human rights concerns, he said migrants, refugees and asylum seekers continue to be abused with impunity. Thousands of people trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea were sent back to Libya and held in inhumane and deplorable conditions with limited humanitarian assistance, with thousands more missing.
I repeat urges all States concerned to respect the integrity of international asylum lawand for the Libyan authorities to find rights-based alternatives to detention.
“The United Nations and the African Union – along with other key actors and organizations in the region – must work together to assist the Libyan people in realizing their legitimate aspirations for a better future,” he said. more peace and prosperity.
