Statement by Ambassador , UK Permanent
Representative to the UN, at the UN Security Council meeting on
Libya.
President, the past two months have demonstrated the fragility of
Libya's status quo. Unilateral actions by Libyan actors on
all sides have threatened the country's stability. But recent
weeks have also shown the ability to find political solutions
through serious engagement between Libyan stakeholders.
I'd like to make three points today:
First, we commend DSRSG Koury's efforts to broker a solution to
the Central Bank crisis. We welcome the agreement reached for the
appointment of the new governor. It is vital now that the
stakeholders swiftly agree a board of directors that is credible,
competent and free from political influence. As a unified
institution it should also operate transparently.
In addition, we urge all actors to work to rebuild the legitimacy
and credibility of the Central Bank, especially with
international institutions. We also welcome the resumption of oil
production, a vital shared resource for the prosperity and
well-being of the Libyan people.
Second, as we heard from briefers, the Central Bank crisis has
shown that the status quo is increasingly unstable. Libya needs a
long-term settlement, and I heard this consistently from the many
Libyan people I met on my visit to Libya last year.
In this regard, we welcome the continued efforts to make progress
on the political track, including plans to convene the Security
Working Group next week. We support efforts to build closer
cooperation and integration between Libya's military and security
actors, in particular to enhance border security and the fight
against terrorism.
Third, we remain concerned at the diminishing space for civil
society. While we were grateful to hear from a civil society
briefer today, we know that civil society face the risk of
reprisals for their activities.
We are also concerned at the continued lack of protection of
women, restricting their ability to participate in all aspects of
Libya's civil, social, and political space, and I thank Ms
Bugaighis for setting this out so clearly for us.
Ensuring a free and safe environment for civil society is
essential, to empower everyone to play a role in developing an
open, democratic society.
President, in closing, I want to stress our continued support to
UNSMIL and DSRSG Koury and her team in supporting Libya in
tackling Libya's immense challenges, and as she said, to move
beyond managing the situation to resolving long-standing
problems.
We look forward to negotiating the renewal of UNSMIL's mandate
this month and to showing united Council support for UNSMIL's
work to achieve a long-term political solution and to enable
elections.
The Secretary General also has our full support in his efforts to
appoint a new Special Representative as soon as possible.
Finally, we continue to call on all Libya's leaders to engage in
the political process in the spirit of compromise.
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