The UN Secretary-General has praised the breakthrough made by a key committee of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum at the weekend, over an
interim political leadership deal, ahead of nationwide elections at the end of the year.
Announcing the development on Saturday, Acting UN Libya envoy Stephanie Williams said that Libyan envoys who had
travelled to the Swiss city had broken the “deadlock” over selecting representatives for a temporary executive, from all
regions of the country.
The oil-rich nation has been divided into warring factions since the overthrow of President Muammar Gaddafi in 2011,
with bloody conflict between the UN-recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west, and the Libyan National
Army (LNA) in the east.
The terms of the Geneva deal were due to be voted on today, Monday, by the 75 members of the Libyan Political Dialogue
Forum, in Tunis.'Best possible compromise'
The envoy described the proposal as “the best possible compromise” as it “respects the regional dimension and
…encourages people to work across the divide and across regions, in order to strengthen understanding and to build unity
in the country”.
The temporary authority will be replaced by a permanent, democratically elected government, chosen by the Libyan people.
“It is important to reflect and to remind everyone that what we are talking about here is a temporary, unified executive
authority that will be replaced by a permanent, democratically elected government, chosen by the Libyan people on
December 24th of this year” Ms. Williams explained.‘Decisive role’
In a statement issued by his Spokesperson, UN chief António Guterres commended in particular the “decisive role played by women
representatives and the Southern members, to forge consensus” over a recommended mechanism for selecting the executive.
“The Secretary-General calls on the members of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum to participate constructively in the
vote on the selection mechanism and press ahead on the path to national elections on 24 December 2021”.
Mr. Guterres also reiterated the support of the entire UN for the people of Libya, in their efforts to advance peace and
stability.Kubiš appointed new Special Envoy
The UN chief also made the formal announcement on Monday that Ján Kubiš of Slovakia is to be the new Special Envoy on Libya and Head of the Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
Mr. Guterres said in the statement that he was “grateful for the commitment and outstanding leadership”, of Acting
Special Representative Stephanie Williams, who has moved the political process of reconstituting the war-torn country
forward considerably during her time in the key role.
Mr. Kubiš, who has served as Special Coordinator for Lebanon, Office of the UN Special Coordinator for Lebanon (UNSCOL),
since 2019, brings with him many years of experience in diplomacy, foreign security policy, and international economic
relations, both internationally and in his own country, the statement said.