Statement by the Republic of Slovenia at the UNSC meeting on the situation in Libya

Thank you Mr. President.

We express our appreciation to Under Secretary General DiCarlo for her briefing. I also welcome the Libyan Permanent Representative to this meeting.

Mr. President,

For this our first briefing of the year on Libya, we are pleased that there have been several positive developments, which we hope will usher new momentum into Libya’s political process, one that has been in a fragile stalemate for far too long.

We begin by joining others in welcoming the recent appointment of Ms. Hanna Tetteh as Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya and head of UNSMIL. We look forward to working with Ms. Tetteh in this capacity and to hearing from her during the next meeting of the Council on Libya. We also welcome the automatic extension of UNSMIL’s mandate until October of this year, as well as the recent updating of the Libya sanctions regime, with thanks to the UK as penholder and all Council members for their engagement.

We furthermore acknowledge the dedication and commitment shown by Deputy Special Representative Stephanie Khoury during her time as interim Head of Mission, a period which saw a critical UN-mediated agreement on Libya’s Central Bank, as well as the successful holding of a first round of municipal elections late last year. We encourage progress on holding the second group of municipal elections without delay.

Mr. President,

We believe that we can and should build upon these developments. That is why we view the establishment earlier this month of an Advisory Committee as a very positive step and an opportunity to move Libya closer to stability and to long-overdue national elections. We encourage the Committee to address substantial issues as soon as possible.

We once again call on all Libyan stakeholders to engage constructively with UNSMIL and its leadership in the ‘Multi-Track Political Initiative’ that was presented to the Council in December. Good-faith engagement and demonstrating compromise will be essential in overcoming all outstanding, contentious issues including on the electoral framework.

We continue to believe that this process should be inclusive, involving Libyans from all walks of life, and in particular we stress the importance of women having full, equal, meaningful and safe participation, as well as the need to engage Libyan youth.  

Mr. President,

The shocking discovery earlier this month of two mass graves in Libya containing the bodies of dozens of migrants, is a tragic reminder of the scale and scope of the challenges facing the country. There should be a full investigation into these horrific crimes. We acknowledge the efforts of the Libyan authorities in undertaking the operation to rescue migrants from traffickers. We call on all stakeholders to strengthen regional cooperation to safeguard and protect migrants and refugees, and to ensure that those responsible for their exploitation and abuse are brought to justice.    

Mr. President,

We believe that we do have an opportunity in front of us to finally bring an end to Libya’s transition phase, through an inclusive democratic process and with the UN playing a central role. This is, in our view, the surest way to ensure peace, prosperity and security for the benefit of not just the few but all in Libya.

I thank you.

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