S/PV.8048 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/2017/775, 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 the members of the Council to document S/2017/726, 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 2376 (2017). I now give the floor to the representative of Libya.

At the outset, Sir, allow me to congratulate you on your assumption of the presidency of the Security Council for the month of September. I also wish to welcome the adoption of resolution 2376 (2017), on extending for another year the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). I should like to make several comments in that regard. First, we must base our work on the principle of national ownership — a crucial principle referred to in a number of the Council’s previous resolutions. Against that backdrop, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya is a special political mission with a mandate to facilitate the political process in Libya and to bring together the various parties in the country. We are aware of the fact that the political and institutional divisions are the key reason for the various challenges faced today by the Libyan State. We need a separation of powers into the legislative, executive and judicial branches. And we need a single, unified army that operates under civilian authority. Secondly, the issue of illegal migration is also a major challenge for my country. This issue is of course linked to the political and institutional divisions that prevail in the country and the volatile security situation. We know that migrants are living in incredibly difficult conditions. That, too, is linked to the lack of stability in my country. We understand the concerns expressed by host States. However, the political crisis is the crisis that needs to be resolved. That is the key to allowing us to overcome all of the other challenges facing my country. We also emphasize the fact that illegal migration is an international issue, and therefore we need to find an international solution to that multidimensional problem. In addition, we will need to tackle the root causes of the crisis — not simply its symptoms. Transit countries such as Libya cannot manage the problem alone. Moreover, we need to work in coordination with States of origin. And we need to tackle the criminal organizations that help migrants transit through Libya. The overarching aim of UNSMIL is political stability. We must therefore put in place a comprehensive development plan and work towards rebuilding my country. We also need to create job opportunities, including providing opportunities for workers from neighbouring countries. All of that needs to be undertaken within a legal framework that makes it possible for migrant workers in my country to operate in an environment that allows them fully to enjoy their rights. We held various discussions with a number of members of the Council in order to incorporate into today’s resolution language pertaining to national ownership and coordination with the Government of National Accord. Unfortunately, our suggestions were not included in the resolution, and the concept of national ownership was not referred to as we asked that it be. That was an entirely legitimate demand.