Libya

Amid a flurry of regional diplomacy and intelligence manoeuvring, Libya’s political crisis stands at a critical juncture. A new United States-backed initiative aiming to end the country’s institutional divide and unify its executive authorities has gained notable traction in the east, in effect putting the ball in the court of western Libyan factions.

The UN's special representative for Libya said Thursday that a surge in disinformation and hate speech targeting migrants, refugees and humanitarian workers is threatening the country's "fragile" political progress. … She said false claims about UN intentions in Libya have stoked hostility and led to attacks on UN facilities.

Briefing the Security Council on Thursday, Hanna Tetteh, the Secretary-General's Special Representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission (UNSMIL), said the political process had regained momentum, though progress remained fragile. She described the UNSMIL-facilitated road map – covering elections, institutional unification, security, economic reform and national reconciliation – as “not merely a political imperative” but “a viable path” out of the country's institutional paralysis.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) expressed its deep concern yesterday over reports of continued mobilization of armed groups, along with the alarming increase in assassinations in and around the city of Zawia, which it said threatens to ignite a new wave of violence and further endanger civilians.

Briefing the Security Council on the International Criminal Court’s work in Libya, its Deputy Prosecutor today said recent judicial proceedings, including the confirmation hearing of Khaled Mohamed Ali El Hishri, have brought victims “some measure of justice, of healing”, while urging stronger cooperation to secure arrests and advance accountability for war crimes, crimes against humanity and abuses against migrants.

The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced that members of the “4+4 Small Convening” held a new session at the mission’s office in Tunis as part of ongoing efforts to advance the UN-backed political roadmap and support preparations for national elections.

[…] According to UNSMIL, participants stressed the need to end the political deadlock that has hindered progress in the electoral process, emphasizing the importance of responding to the will of the Libyan people.  

Libya’s political leaders continue to lag in implementing a roadmap that leads to national elections and unified institutions, the UN Special Representative for the country told the Security Council on Wednesday. “We are not where we would like to be in terms of progress on the roadmap,” said Hanna S. Tetteh, who also heads the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) – a country that remains divided between two rival administrations. 

The Security Council today renewed until 15 August 2027 the mandate of the Panel of Experts tasked with monitoring the implementation of sanctions on Libya and extended until 1 August 2027 the authorization for Member States to take measures against the illicit export of petroleum from the country.

Libya’s rival legislative bodies have approved a unified state budget for the first time in more than a decade, in a rare moment of cooperation in a country fractured by years of conflict.