S/PV.10134 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2026/314, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2819 (2026). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

The United Kingdom thanks the Security Council members for their constructive approach during negotiations on this resolution (resolution 2819 (2026)). Today’s resolution underscores the Council’s commitment to peace and security in Libya and to protecting the interests of the Libyan people. It strengthens measures to counter illicit oil exports, ensuring concerted international action against oil smuggling in Libya. The United Kingdom looks forward to further engagement with Council members to consider how measures might also be applied to regional organizations. The resolution also enables the Libyan Investment Authority to transfer the role of global custodian, under Committee oversight, while maintaining the asset freeze and safeguarding these assets for the future benefit of the Libyan people. It also supports a comprehensive audit of the Libyan Investment Authority’s frozen assets, including through cooperation with Member States and financial institutions. Lastly, we congratulate Libya’s leaders on the recent milestone agreement on a unified national budget and welcome United States support in facilitating this. The agreement’s implementation will represent significant progress in the responsible management of Libya’s economy and respect for its financial institutions. We urge Libyan stakeholders to also make progress on the United Nations-facilitated, Libyanled political process.

I have the honour to deliver this statement on behalf of the three African members of the Security Council (A3), namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Liberia and my own country, Somalia. We express our appreciation to the United Kingdom for its commendable efforts in steering the discussion on the resolution that was just adopted (resolution 2819 (2026)). Throughout this negotiation, the A3 engaged constructively to reach a balanced text that addresses the many concerns raised by Libya. Despite some shortcomings in the text, the A3 voted in favour of it, because we recognize the merit of its provisions and the progress it has achieved. The A3 is deeply concerned by the continuous erosion of Libya’s frozen assets due to misuse or mismanagement by certain international financial institutions. We reiterate that these assets are frozen for the sole purpose of protecting and preserving their value for the benefit of the Libyan people, not for the institutions holding the funds. The A3 demands full accountability, reparations and compensation for such violations. In this regard, we welcome the inclusion of paragraph 17, which requests Member States and financial institutions to support a comprehensive audit by the Libyan Investment Authority (LIA) to verify the aggregate amount, location and jurisdiction of all frozen assets. We also welcome the update to paragraph 19 (a) of resolution 1970 (2011), which now allows the LIA to use its frozen assets to pay salaries and requires that the LIA remain at the centre of any request to change the custodian of the frozen assets, both of which are long-standing requests addressed in this resolution. Lastly, the A3 will continue working to ensure Libyan views are prioritized in the issuance of the implementation assistance notices, enabling the LIA to reinvest its frozen cash reserves, as mandated by paragraph 14 of resolution 2769 (2025), which is currently under consideration. To conclude, the A3 expresses its unwavering support of Libya’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and political independence. We reiterate our commitment to protecting and preserving the Libyan frozen assets for the benefit of the Libyan people. We stand in solidarity with the Libyan people, who have endured hardship owing to miscalculations and hasty decisions made in the past by the Council.

I would like to thank the penholder, the United Kingdom, for ably conducting a successful negotiation and for facilitating the successful adoption of this resolution (resolution 2819 (2026)) renewing the Libya sanctions regime. Greece welcomes the renewal of the Libya sanctions regime, including the extension of the mandate of the Panel of Experts. We should collectively support Libya’s economic recovery. In this regard we welcome the inclusion of clarifying provisions regarding the assets freeze aimed at protecting frozen assets for the benefit of the Libyan people. In particular, we note the provisions requesting Member States and encouraging relevant financial institutions to ensure the protection of frozen assets and to support and engage with the comprehensive audit conducted by the Libyan Investment Authority. This audit is expected to provide much needed clarity on the aggregate amount, location and jurisdiction of all frozen assets of the Libyan Investment Authority and to establish a comprehensive and transparent inventory. We consider this an important step towards preserving their value. We also welcome the clarifications on the implementation of the assets freeze, including on the reinvestment possibilities. To this end the resolution clarifies, among other things, that salaries to be paid by the Libyan Investment Authority for its activities fall within the scope of paragraph 19 (a) of resolution 1970 (2011) and that the costs associated with the audit may constitute basic expenses within the meaning of the same provision. The resolution also clarifies the issue of the transfer of frozen assets between custodian banks within the same jurisdiction and encourages relevant financial institutions to engage constructively with the Libyan Investment Authority to help to facilitate the implementation of the measure outlined in paragraph 14 of resolution 2769 (2025). Against this backdrop, we are glad to see that certain issues concerning paragraph 14 have been clarified, affirming our belief that the relevant Implementation Assistance Notice should be promptly finalized to expedite and facilitate reinvestment without further delay. In conclusion, as a neighbouring country and long-standing partner of Libya, Greece reiterates the importance of advancing the political process with a view to achieving a strong, stable and unified Libya free from foreign interference and fully in control of its sovereign institutions.

The Security Council has just unanimously adopted resolution 2819 (2026). We wish to thank the efforts made by the penholder, the United Kingdom. The original intention of the Security Council’s asset freeze on the Libyan Investment Authority was to safeguard the common wealth of the Libyan people, not to punish them. We welcome the resolution’s adjustment and optimization of the assets freeze measures in response to Libya’s requests, which will help to ensure better protection of the frozen assets. In accordance with the resolution, relevant financial institutions should engage constructively with the Libyan side and promote the prompt and reasonable reinvestment of frozen cash assets. The sanctions Committee established pursuant to resolution 1970 (2011) concerning Libya is currently formulating an Implementation Assistance Notice in this regard. China looks forward to all parties reaching consensus at an early date to help to preserve and increase the value of the frozen Libyan assets. For a long time, illegal oil smuggling in Libya has been rampant, resulting in the significant loss of national wealth. China supports the Security Council in strengthening efforts to combat illegal oil smuggling in Libya and calls on all parties to implement the requirements of the resolution, ensuring that all transactions related to Libyan oil exports are conducted through the National Oil Corporation so that Libya’s oil resources truly benefit the Libyan people. The Security Council should continue to pay close attention to the real challenge of illicit arms proliferation in Libya and call on Member States to strictly implement the Council’s arms embargo to help to create a favourable environment for maintaining stability in Libya. As a good friend of Libya, China has consistently and firmly supported Libya’s sovereignty, independence and territorial integrity and attaches importance to Libya’s legitimate concerns. We stand ready to continue working with all parties to make concrete efforts towards achieving peace and development in Libya.

We would like to thank the United Kingdom, as the penholder of the resolution (resolution 2819 (2026)), for their leadership in facilitating consensus on the renewal of the sanctions regime concerning Libya. Panama has voted in favour of renewing the sanctions regime concerning Libya, but we wish in particular to refer to the assets freeze regime established in resolution 1970 (2011). We reiterate that these assets must be preserved and managed responsibly so that, in due course, they may be made available for the benefit of the Libyan people. In this regard, we call on Member States and financial institutions to ensure strict compliance with these measures, while also safeguarding the assets’ value. Panama notes the efforts aimed at enhancing transparency regarding these assets, in particular through the conduct of a comprehensive audit by the Libyan Investment Authority. We consider this exercise to be a positive step towards clarifying the location and status of the frozen assets, whilst respecting the confidentiality of banking information. We also recognize the importance of cooperation between Member States, financial institutions and the relevant Libyan authorities in ensuring the effective implementation of the sanctions regime. Panama reaffirms its support for a balanced approach that combines the firm implementation of measures with support for the Libyan political process, which must always seek the welfare of its people.

The United States would also like to thank the United Kingdom, as penholder, for leading negotiations and achieving a balanced text. The United States thanks the Panel of Experts for its comprehensive and unflinching annual report highlighting illicit arms and oil smuggling in Libya and for its recommendations that helped to shape this resolution (resolution 2819 (2026)). To protect frozen assets for the future benefit of the Libyan people, the resolution encourages relevant financial institutions to support a comprehensive audit conducted by the Libyan Investment Authority to verify all of its frozen assets. In order to impede illicit exports of petroleum and avoid the diversion of energy revenues from the Libyan State and the Libyan people, the resolution calls for payments for crude oil exported from Libya to be routed exclusively through the accounts of the National Oil Corporation at the Libyan Foreign Bank. We look forward to working with Council members next month to extend Operation IRINI’s mandate and to strengthen its capacity to enforce the Council’s resolutions. I would like to end on a very positive note. On 11 April, with the support from the United States and in particular, Senior Advisor Boulos, Libya’s western and eastern stakeholders agreed to Libya’s first unified national budget in more than 13 years. Full implementation of the unified budget will advance Libya’s financial stability to defend the value of the currency and the Libyan people’s purchasing power, boost Libyan oil production and enable the implementation of transparent development projects across Libya, among other important economic benefits. The work we do here to discourage illicit activities, strengthen Libyan institutions and protect the assets of the Libyan people will complement this landmark achievement and bring us closer to the goal of a united and prosperous Libya.