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STORY: UN / LIBYA
TRT: 4:25
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / NATS
DATELINE: 22 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
22 APRIL 2026, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya:
“Libya’s national wealth is being absorbed into a distorted political economy that fuels unaccountable spending and weaponises oil revenues. This diversion of resources without a consensus on agreed national priorities weakens fiscal discipline and undermines the State’s ability to function as a steward for implementing projects, programs and initiatives that respond to critical public priorities and social spending commitments.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya:
“Libya is facing a significant but potentially short-lived oil revenue windfall. This creates a narrow window of opportunity to reinforce macroeconomic stability and restore integrity in public finance. In this context, UNSMIL welcomes the signing on 11 April of Annex No. 1 to the Unified Development Program by members of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State under the auspices of the Central Bank and supported by the United States, as an important step towards greater fiscal coherence.”
6. Wide shot, Security Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya:
“The Sudan Regional Response Plan, which covers Libya, is intended to support approximately 597,000 Sudanese refugees and host communities in health, protection, and food security, with an estimated financial requirement of $115.5 million for 2026. I urge Member States to support this effort. In parallel, efforts continue to advance the return or reintegration of internally displaced populations, primarily those linked to conflict, as part of the broader durable solutions agenda”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya:
“Libya has reached a significant political, economic, and security juncture. The institutions of the state remain divided, and there is not enough progress towards holding national elections. The UNSMIL roadmap was conceived to help overcome the country’s de facto division through a negotiated governance arrangement leading to institutional reunification, the legitimisation of institutions through elections, and preserving the country’s unity.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Jennifer Locetta, Deputy Representative to the United Nations, Alternate Representative for Special Political Affairs, United States:
“Libyan professional military officers from the east and west are jointly participating in border security and counterterrorism training led by the United States and international partners. Libyans’ leadership in hosting a portion of the exercise marks a historic milestone by facilitating the training of over ten nations, Libya's Joint Forces are highlighting their commitment to regional security and demonstrating the strength of military unity.”
12. Wide shot, Security Council
13. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taher Al-Sunni, Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations:
“The Libyan people want all processes to reach to a consensual constitutional framework that would allow to organize general elections as soon as possible, and to end all the transitional stages, to renew the legitimacy of the institutions by listening to the voice of the people and to the ballots, instead of listening to munitions and bombardments.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taher Al-Sunni, Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations:
“We call on everyone to prevent the smuggling of Libyan oil and to prosecute the perpetrators locally and internationally, and to hold them accountable. The last report of the panel of experts have clearly shown what has happened the volume of the ongoing smuggling in this regard. Therefore, we emphasized that any support to Libya from countries or international organizations should be effective in this regard, and it should be in full coordination with the government and relevant institutions. The smuggled oil should be given back to the State away from any activities. We should deal with the oil smuggling dossier, the way we deal with arms smuggling and with preventing a cross-border criminal networks.”
16. Wide shot, Security Council
Special Representative for Libya Hanna Serwaa Tetteh said Libya faces a “critical” political, economic, and security juncture, with divided State institutions and stalled elections. She reiterated the UNSMIL roadmap can lead to institutional reunification, restoring legitimacy through elections and preserving the country’s unity.
Briefing the Security Council today (22 Apr) on the situation in Libya via video link, Tetteh thanked the Council’s support of UNSMIL and the implementation of the roadmap, as reaffirmed in its 3 March Press Statement. However, she said that we are not where we would like to be in terms of progress on the roadmap.
She noted that some Libyan actors continue to disregard the expectations of the public regarding their participation in political processes, or towards exercising political leadership based on democratic legitimacy. Parallel structures have been established outside of the framework of existing agreements, which can limit the effectiveness of the UNSMIL process aimed at institutional reunification and establishing democratic legitimacy for political leadership.
The Special Representative also highlighted, “Libya’s national wealth is being absorbed into a distorted political economy that fuels unaccountable spending and weaponises oil revenues.”
She said, “this diversion of resources without a consensus on agreed national priorities weakens fiscal discipline and undermines the State’s ability to function as a steward for implementing projects, programs and initiatives that respond to critical public priorities and social spending commitments.”
Tetteh cautioned that the country is facing a “significant but potentially short-lived” oil revenue windfall. “This creates a narrow window of opportunity to reinforce macroeconomic stability and restore integrity in public finance,” she added.
In this context, the UNSMIL chief welcomed the signing on 11 April of Annex No. 1 to the Unified Development Program by members of the House of Representatives and the High Council of State under the auspices of the Central Bank and supported by the United States, “as an important step towards greater fiscal coherence.”
The Special Representative also stated that the Sudan Regional Response Plan, which covers Libya, is intended to support approximately 597,000 Sudanese refugees and host communities in health, protection, and food security, with an estimated financial requirement of $115.5 million for 2026.
She urged Member States to support this effort, adding that in parallel, “efforts continue to advance the return or reintegration of internally displaced populations, primarily those linked to conflict, as part of the broader durable solutions agenda”
For her part, US diplomat Jennifer Locetta commented on the recent Flintlock military exercise.
Locetta said, “Libyan professional military officers from the east and west are jointly participating in border security and counterterrorism training led by the United States and international partners.”
“Libyans’ leadership in hosting a portion of the exercise marks a historic milestone by facilitating the training of over ten nations, Libya's Joint Forces are highlighting their commitment to regional security and demonstrating the strength of military unity,” she reiterated.
Libyan Ambassador Taher Al-Sunni told the Council that “the Libyan people want all processes to reach to a consensual constitutional framework that would allow to organize general elections as soon as possible, and to end all the transitional stages, to renew the legitimacy of the institutions by listening to the voice of the people and to the ballots, instead of listening to munitions and bombardments.”
Ambassador Al-Sunni also called on the international community to prevent the smuggling of Libyan oil and to “prosecute the perpetrators locally and internationally, and to hold them accountable.”
He noted the last report of a panel of experts “have clearly shown what has happened the volume of the ongoing smuggling in this regard.”
Therefore, he emphasized that “any support to Libya from countries or international organizations should be effective in this regard, and it should be in full coordination with the government and relevant institutions.”
Ambassador Al-Sunni stressed that the smuggled oil should be given back to the State, adding, “we should deal with the oil smuggling dossier, the way we deal with arms smuggling and with preventing a cross-border criminal networks.”
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