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STORY: UN / LIBYA
TRT: 03:35
SOURCE: UNIFEED
RESTRICTIONS: NONE
LANGUAGES: ENGLISH / ARABIC / NATS
DATELINE: 16 APRIL 2024, NEW YORK CITY / FILE
FILE - NEW YORK CITY
1. Wide shot, UN Headquarters
16 APRIL 2024, 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 Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“Since I invited the five key Libyan stakeholders for a dialogue to resolve all contested issues pertaining to the electoral laws and the formation of a unified government, I have escalated my engagement with them and proposed ways to address their concerns while maintaining the integrity of the dialogue initiative as originally proposed. Unfortunately, my attempts to address their concerns were met with stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations, and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people.”
4. Wide shot, Council
5. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“Since the end of 2022, the United Nations-led efforts to help resolve Libya’s political crisis through elections faced national as well as regional pushbacks, revealing an intentional defiance to engage in earnest and a tenacity to perpetually delay elections.”
6. Wide shot, Council
7. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“Preconditions put forward by Libyan leaders contradict their proclaimed intention to find a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned solution to the conflict. So far, they have not demonstrated their good will. Concerns regarding the weakening of the international consensus on Libya are growing within the general population, as their country has become the playground for fierce rivalry among regional and international actors motivated by geopolitical, political, and economic interests as well as competition extending beyond Libya and related to its neighbourhood.”
8. Wide shot, Council
9. SOUNDBITE (English) Abdoulaye Bathily, Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL):
“Libyan leaders must reach a political settlement based on negotiations and compromise. We cannot allow the aspirations of 2.8 million of registered Libyan voters to be overshadowed by the narrow interests of a few. I call on the Council to heed their legitimate dream.”
10. Wide shot, Council
11. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Taher Al-Sunni, Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Libya:
“These words are addressed to those who waive slogans of justice and human rights. Because we continue to hear some who continue to preach to us and continue to criticize the situation in our country, giving us lessons on the principles of humanity and democracy while at the same time, turning a blind eye to the scenes of killing and destruction in Gaza, while deafening their ears to the screams of children and women buried under the rubble.”
12. Wide shot, end of Council session
The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, today (16 Apr) told the Security Council that “unfortunately” his attempts to address key Libyan stakeholders’ concerns have been met “with stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations, and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people.”
Bathily said, “since the end of 2022, the United Nations-led efforts to help resolve Libya’s political crisis through elections faced national as well as regional pushbacks, revealing an intentional defiance to engage in earnest and a tenacity to perpetually delay elections.”
He said, “preconditions put forward by Libyan leaders contradict their proclaimed intention to find a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned solution to the conflict,” adding that “so far, they have not demonstrated their good will.”
The Special Representative said Libya “has become the playground for fierce rivalry among regional and international actors motivated by geopolitical, political and economic interests as well as competition extending beyond Libya and related to its neighbourhood.”
He urged Libyan leaders to reach a political settlement “based on negotiations and compromise” and said, “we cannot allow the aspirations of 2.8 million of registered Libyan voters to be overshadowed by the narrow interests of a few.”
For his part, Libyan Ambassador Taher Al-Sunni said, “we continue to hear some who continue to preach to us and continue to criticize the situation in our country, giving us lessons on the principles of humanity and democracy while at the same time, turning a blind eye to the scenes of killing and destruction in Gaza, while deafening their ears to the screams of children and women buried under the rubble.”
The political impasse in Libya continues between the UN-recognised Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli and led by Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Mohammed Dbeibah, and the eastern-based Government of National Stability (GNS), led by Prime Minister Osama Hamad and aligned with the House of Representatives (HoR) and the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of General Khalifa Haftar.
The stalemate between the rival governments has persisted since the indefinite postponement of the Libyan national elections that were planned for December 2021.
