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STORY: UN / LIBYA
TRT: 03:07
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGE: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 15 NOVEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
RECENT – NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, exterior, United Nations Headquarters
15 NOVEMBER 2022, NEW YORK CITY
2. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“I engaged repeatedly with members of the Presidential Council, the High Council of State, and other key actors in the political, economic, and security spheres, recalling that it was their moral and political responsibility to work actively towards bringing the country back to peace and stability through a Libyan Libyan solution to the crisis.”
4. Wide shot, Security Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“I also encouraged them to engage in dialogue with each other inside Libya, which would send a clear message to the population that they are serious about resolving their differences.”
6. Med shot, Libyan Representative
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“The popular aspiration for peace, stability, and legitimate institutions is clear from my interaction with Libyans. However, there is an increasing recognition that some institutional players are actively hindering progress towards elections.”
8. Wide shot, Security Council
3. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“Further prolonging the interim period will make the country even more vulnerable to political, economic, and security instability and could put the country at risk of partition.”
10. Wide shot, Security Council
11. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“On the economic front, the lack of accountability, transparency, and equity in the allocation of resources remains a key cause of tensions.”
12. Med shot, delegates
13. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“The human rights situation in Libya remains alarming. UNSMIL continued to document enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and ill-treatment in detention facilities across the country.”
14. Wide shot, Security Council
15. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United National Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“Human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers continue with impunity. I reiterate the urgent need to find rights-based alternatives to detention. Migrants and refugees crossing the Central Mediterranean from Libya continue to be intercepted by Libyan authorities, disembarked in Libya, and sent to detention centres where they suffer serious human rights abuses.”
16. Med shot, delegates
17. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taher M. T. Elsonni, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Libya:
“We would like to repeat and reiterate the importance for the Security Council and the international community of respecting the desire and will of the Libyan people and its desire to emerge from the crisis and bring about stability.”
18. Wide shot, end of meeting
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, said he has encouraged key actors in the political, economic, and security spheres "to engage in dialogue with each other inside Libya, which would send a clear message to the population that they are serious about resolving their differences."
Briefing the Security Council today (15 Nov), the Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Bathily said he had engaged “repeatedly” with members of the Presidential Council, the High Council of State, and other key actors, “recalling that it was their moral and political responsibility to work actively towards bringing the country back to peace and stability through a Libyan solution to the crisis.”
He noted, “The popular aspiration for peace, stability and legitimate institutions is clear from my interaction with Libyans. However, there is an increasing recognition that some institutional players are actively hindering progress towards elections.”
He said that the genuine political will of these actors needs to be tested against reality as we approach December 24th, the first anniversary of the postponement of elections and the 7th anniversary of the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA).
UNSMIL chief emphasized, “Further prolonging the interim period will make the country even more vulnerable to political, economic, and security instability and could put the country at risk of partition.”
He reported some progress on the security track.
Meanwhile, the ceasefire continues to hold, despite the continued use of escalatory rhetoric and the build-up of forces on both sides, according to Bathily.
On the economic front, he said that the lack of accountability, transparency and equity in the allocation of resources remains a key cause of tensions.
The UN Special Representative, therefore, welcomed the Council’s emphasis, in Resolution 2656 (2022), on the importance of establishing a Libyan-led mechanism that brings together stakeholders from across the country to set spending priorities and ensure that oil and gas revenues are managed transparently and equitably, with effective Libyan oversight.
On 9 November, the co-chairs of the Economic Working Group resumed consultations and agreed on the urgency to support related initiatives by Libyan institutions and assist them in harmonizing proposals for temporary mechanisms until an elected Government is in place or a national budget is agreed upon.
According to Bathily, the human rights situation in Libya remains “alarming.”
UNSMIL continued to document enforced disappearances, arbitrary detentions, and ill-treatment in detention facilities across the country.
He reported that since October, dozens of detainees in Mitiga prison have reportedly started a hunger strike to protest against their detention conditions. Authorities have refused to issue “detention certificates,” preventing families from receiving allowances and salaries of their detained relatives.
He added, “Human rights violations against migrants and asylum seekers continue with impunity.”
He also reiterated the urgent need to find rights-based alternatives to detention.
The Special Representative continued, “Migrants and refugees crossing the Central Mediterranean from Libya continue to be intercepted by Libyan authorities, disembarked in Libya, and sent to detention centres where they suffer serious human rights abuses.”
He then called on Libyan authorities and neighbouring countries to uphold international standards related to safe search and rescue practices and ensure that intercepted persons are disembarked in a place of safety.
On the humanitarian front, he reported a 57 per cent decrease in the number of internally displaced persons in Libya since 2020, which now stands at 134,787.
He added that efforts by Libyan authorities to find durable solutions for all those who remain internally displaced should be accelerated.
Libyan Ambassador Taher M. T. Elsonni also briefed the Council.
He said, "We would like to repeat and reiterate the importance for the Security Council and the international community of respecting the desire and will of the Libyan people and its desire to emerge from the crisis and bring about stability.”
