Statement by Permanent Representative Vassily Nebenzia at a UNSC Briefing on Libya
Madam President,
We would like to thank the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ms. Hanna Tetteh, we are grateful for her briefing. We have listened attentively to the report by the Somali Chair of the Security Council Sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970. We welcome the participation of Libya’s Permanent Representative in today's meeting.
We continue to monitor the situation in this country, which is still mired in a protracted political crisis. The security situation remains unstable, especially around Tripoli: acts of violence continue unabated and their number is not decreasing. Heavy weapons have been used in many of these clashes, despite the fact that the country is under an arms embargo. Previously, escalation was avoided thanks to timely mediation efforts. We hope that this time, too, the Libyan stakeholders will manage to reach agreement, and that provocative actions will cease.
Stabilizing the situation “on the ground” is essential, first and foremost, for advancing the stalled Libyan political process. We note the ongoing efforts of UN mediation to revive the process. We would like to take this opportunity to reiterate our unwavering support for Ms. Tetteh, who is striving to bring together Libya's political forces with a view to comprehensively preparing the country for nationwide elections.
To ensure success of the future elections, it is crucial to promptly complete the initial preparatory steps of the Special Representative's roadmap, which concern filling the leadership positions of Libya’s High Electoral Commission and updating the country’s electoral legislation. We hope that Libyan parliamentarians from the House of Representatives and the High Council of State will be able to reach consensus on these issues.
Madam President,
It is clear that any plan to bring Libya out of crisis must be comprehensive in nature. Such a plan must take into account the legitimate interests and concerns of all major Libyan stakeholders. In this regard, it is hard to overstate the importance of systematic and painstaking engagement with the authorities in both the west and east of the country. At the same time, we caution against excessive focus on various discussion formats. Of course, they may help in terms of gauging public sentiment vis-à-vis the course of the political settlement, but their outcomes are unlikely to serve as a solid foundation for long-term agreements between Libyan stakeholders. This also fully applies to the so-called “structured dialogue” under the auspices of UNSMIL, which began on December 14. Thus, eastern and southern parts of Libya were poorly represented at the first meeting. We believe it is vital to ensure that this initiative enjoys the support of the Libyans themselves rather than creating additional friction and “fault lines.”
What we also view as one of the Mission's top priorities is establishing a sustainable framework for external support for political settlement in the country, based on the harmonising the approaches by external stakeholders. The Berlin Process on Libya, which has been resumed in its original configuration, is well-positioned to serve this very pupose. We assume that any discussions within the Berlin Process must invite all the participants of this format without exception, and ensure significant involvement of Libya’s representatives. Otherwise, it may turn into a destabilizing factor rather than a useful tool.
Madam President,
At the same time, we must not forget that the political process must be Libyans-owned and Lybian-led. Imposing any kind of “algorithm for action” from outside is counterproductive, which we have seen time and again. The same applies to economic issues. We therefore deem unacceptable any attempts to control the operation of Libyan financial and economic institutions from abroad.
Yet, it is the political track that is of key importance for the Libyan settlement. If there are compromises achieved on this track, will be only a matter of time to have stabilization in the economic and military spheres. For the time being, while the crisis in Libya remains unresolved, the presence of UNSMIL, the main UN configuration tool, continues to be indisputable stabilizing factor.
The Mission's mandate, which was extended in October this year, has undergone a number of changes that we consider to be for the better. We hope that it provides Special Representative Tetteh with an enhanced toolkit for facilitating inter-Libyan dialogue. This will enable the Mission and its leadership to find ways to effectively engage with Libyan stakeholders. We also consider it important to expand UNSMIL’s permanent presence to the east and south of the country.
Madam President,
We note that the problem of Libya’s frozen assets is not improving but rather worsening. When the Security Council decided to freeze these assets, they declared their intention to preserve this money for future generations of Libyans. Today, however, we are quite far from that goal: Libyan assets have become highly vulnerable to the predatory appetites of unscrupulous financial actors in Western countries who, as we have repeatedly seen, show little regard to safeguarding other people’s funds that have been entrusted to them. The situation is exacerbated by another issue: namely, the loose interpretation on the part of those very countries of the Security Council's sanctions, which resulted in blocking Libyan funds without valid grounds. We call on the international community to take a responsible approach to this matter, which is of critical importance to all Libyans, and to actively seek solutions to it.
Thank you.
