Statement by Ambassador at the UN Security Council
meeting on Libya.
"Thank you, President and I thank SRSG Bathily and Ambassador
Yamazaki Kazuyuki for their briefings today.
We welcome the SRSG’s continued efforts to convene
representatives of key actors for a preparatory meeting, as a
critical next step towards breaking the political impasse and
delivering elections.
But as we heard from the SRSG, constructive engagement and
genuine compromise from all sides are necessary for this process
to be successful. We note that some of the actors have either
refused to nominate representatives or have attached conditions
to their attendance. So we echo the SRSG’s call on all parties to
engage meaningfully with the UN process, without preconditions,
and to meet under UN auspices to resolve the issues that are
delaying elections.
As I witnessed first-hand during my visit to Tripoli last year, it
is the Libyan people who continue to suffer from this political
stalemate. Nearly six months have passed since the devastating
floods in Derna and reconstruction is hampered by the lack of a
unified and transparent approach. Basic healthcare and other
services are not functioning.
The political stalemate also exacerbates the challenges civil
society organisations face across Libya. We remain concerned by
the shrinking of civil society space, the rise of human rights
violations, particularly towards migrants and refugees as
the SRSG highlighted, and the increasingly restrictive
environment for women.
We welcome efforts by the High National Elections Commission to
hold municipal elections across the country. However, we are
concerned by reports that eleven HNEC field offices were forced
to suspend operations in southern and eastern Libya at the start
of February. We strongly urge Libya’s leaders to provide the
necessary support to facilitate municipal elections, allowing
Libyan people to exercise their democratic rights.
President, as the SRSG has asked, we need to put our collective
effort and collective support behind building momentum towards
elections. Libyans will benefit from a democratic, united, and
stable state. So we urge Libyan leaders to engage constructively
with the SRSG to fulfil their responsibilities to the Libyan
people. And the UK will continue to work with partners and
support the SRSG and UNSMIL towards this aim."
