S/PV.7832 Security Council

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Libya to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2016/1048, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2016/1011, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. 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 2323 (2016). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements following the voting.

We supported the adoption of resolution 2323 (2016), but we must recall that, during the discussions on its elaboration, we strongly favoured extending the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for six months. We believe that to be the optimal time frame in the light of the weak political dynamics in terms of the country’s development, the insufficient effectiveness of the work of the United Nations Mission and the unclear prospects for its return to the country. Sadly, that opinion was not heeded due to the desire of certain Security Council members to paint an unjustifiably optimistic picture of the situation in Libya.

The United Kingdom warmly welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2323 (2016) today, which renews the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). It sends a strong signal of Security Council unity and commitment to resolving the situation in Libya. As the penholder on this issue, I want to thank all Council members for their support today. This is a vital renewal at an important time for Libya. Almost a year since the signing of the Libyan Political Agreement in Skhirat, the Agreement and the Government of National Accord remain the only credible pathway to peace and stability in Libya. Some progress has been made with the establishment of the Presidency Council in Tripoli, and in the fight against terrorism with the Government’s announcement today of the completion of military operations against Da’esh in Sirte. But as we heard from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General earlier this month (see S/PV.7827), Libya continues to face a daunting set of challenges — on security, on the economy, on human rights and on criminality, such as migration traffickers. It is crucial that the international community continue to speak with one voice in support of Special Representative Kobler and UNSMIL’s work to build on this consensus, to encourage all Libyan sides to compromise, to continue to support the Government of National Accord to deliver, and to urge military de-escalation. I therefore again warmly welcome the clear message sent through this resolution of continued international support to Libya at such a crucial time. Through the resolution, we have empowered the Mission to redouble its efforts to support the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement and to use its convening power under the good offices of the Secretary-General to support all Libyan stakeholders, including those not currently fully engaged in the process, so that they can work together with the Presidency Council to chart the way forward. In extending the time period from six to nine months, which was the point that my Russian colleague just made, we have also sent a clear message of the United Nations continued commitment in Libya as it takes forward work to re-establish a permanent presence in Libya in the new year. We also look forward to the outcome of the Secretary-General’s strategic review in 2017 and stand ready to make substantive adjustments to the mandate of the Mission if needed. I thank Council members for their engagement and support on the mandate renewal. Our combined efforts will continue to play an important role in Libya in 2017 and beyond. At a time when other issues divide us, I am pleased that we continue to work together constructively to support the implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement.

Today’s vote to renew the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) should be sending an unambiguous message to the Libyan people that their efforts in forging a path to peace and stability are undertaken with the broad support of the international community and that the tireless work of UNSMIL is recognized as critically important and necessary as it undertakes to support, advise and assist the Government of National Accord. The United States lauds UNSMIL’s efforts. We look forward to its continued work to facilitate the Libyan-led political solution to the challenges facing Libya. We are eager to learn of its continued progress and we offer it our strong support.

France welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2323 (2016), regardless of nuanced positions. The vote illustrates the unity of the Security Council in support of the United Nations process. I warmly thank the British penholder for his efforts in ensuring the adoption of the resolution, which extends the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya until September next year. The decision to extend the mandate by nine months sends a message of continued support to the Mission. Reviewing the mandate will be possible if need be during the year, and a strategic review should be conducted quickly. The resolution reiterates its support for the full implementation of the Libyan Political Agreement. It encourages the Government of National Accord to make further progress, and in particular to build on progress that has already been made to establish a presidential guard. It expresses the Council’s full support to the Vienna communiqué and provides useful clarifications on the Mission’s mandate, which should all be welcomed. The extension of the mandate is also an opportunity to reiterate our full support to Prime Minister Fayez Serraj and his Government. In conclusion, I would like to reiterate France’s full support to United Nations efforts on this issue.

I shall now make a brief statement in my national capacity. We are approaching the first anniversary of the Skhirat Agreement without any significant progress having been made. The stalemate in the situation in Libya is a threat to the security of Libya and of the broader region. I recall that the Political Agreement is the outcome of the work conducted by the United Nations with the Libyans themselves, and several urgent challenges must be met. The first is the establishment of a Government of National Accord, supported by the House of Representatives. The second is the smooth functioning of the country’s financial institutions. And the third is the unification of armed forces under the authority of the executive. That is why we supported extending the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and the efforts of Special Representative Kobler. We hope that with this extension of UNSMIL’s mandate, the situation in Libya will be markedly different. I now resume my functions as President of the Council.