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STORY: UN / LIBYA
TRT: 03:44
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 19 APRIL 2017, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
RECENT - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, UN headquarter
19 APRIL 2017, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. Med shot, delegates
4. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Kobler, Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“There is no alternative, there is no plan B, and there is no need for one. If the parties do not uphold their responsibility in the Libyan political agreement, there is no reason to think that they will have any greater commitment to an alternative agreement.”
5. Med shot, delegates
6. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Kobler, Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“History does not tolerate a power vacuum. Armed groups are gaining power and Libya is witnessing new and heightened violence. The gains made against terrorist groups, including Benghazi and Sirte will ultimately be lost is some actors continue to strive for power at the expense of institutions and civil society. The competition for control of national resources will trigger renewed violence if the root causes are not addressed. The use of violence to obtain short term objectives must end. It is time to go back to politics spirit. It is time to address the core issues and it is time to go back to the spirit of Skhirat.”
7. Med shot, delegates
8. SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Kobler, Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“It is my wish that the international community moves beyond containment. The focus on the fight against terrorism and migration alone is not enough. Migration and terrorism are symptoms, not the root causes.”
9. Med shot, delegates
10. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Elmahdi S. Elmajerbi, Deputy Permanent Representative of Libya to the United Nations:
“The unjustified and sudden military escalation that started with heavy artillery and aircraft on Tamanhint base through the last few days, and which caused a lot of casualties and damage to the facilities, brings the country to the brink of civil war and it might even deal a very strong blow to all the de-escalation and settlement efforts that we are calling for. Targeting these areas has nothing to do with the war against terrorism, everybody know this.”
11. Wide shot, Council
12. Wide shot, Kobler walks up to podium
13 SOUNDBITE (English) Martin Kobler, Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“It is up to the Libyans to decide. This is a Libyan owned process, and I am deeply convinced that if the international community tries to impose solutions this will not work at the end. It is a Libyan process. What we are doing is that we try to suggest options and to organize a mechanism where limited amendments of the Libyan political agreement can take place.”
14. Wide shot, Kobler walks away
The Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) told the Security Council today (19 Apr) that here is “no alternative” to the Skhirat political agreement.
Martin Kobler, who is also the Special Representative of Secretary-General António Guterres in Libya, said “there is no plan B and there is no need for one. If the parties do not uphold their responsibility in the Libyan political agreement, there is no reason to think that they will have any greater commitment to an alternative agreement.”
Kobler said “history does not tolerate a power vacuum.”
He noted that “armed groups are gaining power and Libya is witnessing new and heightened violence” and “the gains made against terrorist groups, including Benghazi and Sirte will ultimately be lost is some actors continue to strive for power at the expense of institutions and civil society.”
The UN official said “the competition for control of national resources will trigger renewed violence if the root causes are not addressed. The use of violence to obtain short term objectives must end.”
He told the Council that the international community move beyond containment and said “the focus on the fight against terrorism and migration alone is not enough. Migration and terrorism are symptoms, not the root causes.”
Libyan Ambassador Elmahdi S. Elmajerbi spoke about the recent military escalation at the Tamanhint base and said it “brings the country to the brink of civil war and it might even deal a very strong blow to all the de-escalation and settlement efforts that we are calling for.”
He added that “targeting these areas has nothing to do with the war against terrorism, everybody know this.”
Outside the Council, Kobler told reporters that “if the international community tries to impose solutions this will not work at the end” as this is “a Libyan process.”
