Statement by Deputy Permanent Representative of Slovenia to the United Nations Saša Jurečko at the briefing on the situation in Libya

Thank you President,

And thanks to Deputy Special Representative and Acting Head of Mission Stephanie Khoury for her informative briefing today.

Ms. Khoury we fully support your ongoing efforts in this interim period. We welcome your engagement with a diverse range of stakeholders including actors east and west, civil society, tribal leaders and the diplomatic community.

Allow me to also take this opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate the work of former Special Representative Bathily. We look forward to the appointment by the Secretary General of a successor to the role of Special Representative in due course.

I also welcome the Libyan Ambassador to the chamber for our meeting.  

President,

It appears that Libya remains stuck in a regrettable stalemate. The lack of progress on the political track is affecting all other sectors of Libyan society: security, economic, humanitarian and human rights. This affects capacity to manage crises as they arise, including disaster risk preparedness and response to extreme weather events.

We reiterate that it is the shared responsibility of all actors to show the political will required to put the Libyan people first and engage in good faith and without preconditions with the UN’s efforts, and move swiftly towards a democratic process, restoring Libya’s unity. This should not be indefinitely postponed. The way forward can only be political and the UN’s critical mediation role is key.

In that sense, we welcome progress made towards holding elections in Libya at local level. The opening of the voter registration process in 60 municipalities is an important step and we commend the work of the High National Elections Commission. We call on the Libyan authorities to do everything in their power to facilitate the work of the Commission. And we hope to see presidential and parliamentary elections follow in the near future.

President,

It is clear that the absence of any political progress only empowers armed actors in Libya. It is regrettable that armed groups have growing influence in the country – the Libyan people deserve better.

We call for the full implementation of the October 2020 ceasefire agreement, and for the withdrawal of all foreign fighters, mercenaries and foreign forces from Libyan territory. This call comes at an increasingly sensitive and fragile moment for the wider region and at Libya’s borders.

We welcome the discussion held in Tunis under the auspices of UNSMIL to establish a code of conduct amongst Libya’s security and military providers, including the focus on international humanitarian law and respect for human rights.

We also welcome the Deputy SRSG’s engagement in the margins of this meeting with the 5+5 Joint Military Commission. The work of the Commission continues to be invaluable, as we strive towards the unification of Libya’s state institutions.

Finally, President, we note with concern that the arms embargo in Libya remains ineffective and we stress the important role played by the sanctions regime and the Libya panel of experts. We call on states to respect the embargo, which we believe is crucial for maintaining peace and security in Libya. We welcome the adoption of Resolution 2733 last month, renewing the authorisation of measures to support implementation of the arms embargo. EU Operation IRINI represents a concrete, tangible contribution to this collective effort.

I thank you.  

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