S/PV.8758 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/2020/896, 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/2020/832, 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 13 votes in favour, none against and 2 abstentions. The draft resolution has been adopted as resolution 2542 (2020). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

South Africa voted in favour of the resolution to extend the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya for an additional 12 months (resolution 2542 (2020)). In this regard, we reiterate that there can be no military solution to the Libya conflict. All Libyan parties, community leaders and non-governmental organizations need to commit to a political dialogue. We reiterate the African Union (AU) Contact Group’s concern with the political deadlock and reaffirm that all Mission efforts must be aimed at the Libyan-owned and Libyan-led political process with the support of the United Nations and the international community. We welcome the cooperation between the United Nations and the AU in finding a lasting solution to the Libyan crisis. We reiterate the call by the AU Contact Group for strong cooperation with Libya’s neighbours. We also welcome the recent intra-Libyan dialogue hosted by the Kingdom of Morocco in Bouznika and the talks in Montreux, Switzerland, which might contribute to moving the various parties closer to a Libyan-owned and Libyan-led process, which will hopefully lead to a peaceful and durable peace in Libya.

Viet Nam voted in favour of resolution 2542 (2020), in support of the renewal of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) at this crucial junction in the country’s history. We reiterate Viet Nam’s consistent position that an inclusive Libyan-led, Libyan-owned peace process is the only viable solution to the current conflict. We would like to reaffirm Viet Nam’s full support for the work of UNSMIL and we look forward to the timely appointment of the Special Envoy on Libya as mentioned in resolution just adopted to better facilitate the current peace process. Collaboration among UNSMIL, regional organizations, countries of the region, especially Libya’s neighbours, and other relevant States Members of the United Nations will also play a key role in promoting peace and stability in the country. In this regard, we welcome the intra-Libya dialogue held on 6 September in Bouznika, in the Kingdom of Morocco. We compliment the three-track peace talks under the auspices of UNSMIL.

The Russian Federation abstained in the voting on resolution 2542 (2020), on the extension of the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), submitted by the United Kingdom. We abstained because not all our amendments of principle were reflected in the text. In our approach to the Libyan settlement, we have consistently proceeded on the basis that solutions proposed to Libya can be implemented only if the Libyan sides agree to them. This is a fundamental principle enshrined in Security Council resolutions. It is the Libyans themselves alone who should determine the future of their country. I recall that we said this when we were adopting resolution 2510 (2020). This principle should apply to all the decisions, including those concerning the monitoring of a cessation of hostilities — that is, UNSMIL. As soon as the Libyans agree on it within the existing dialogue mechanism, such monitoring should be carried out at the request of and with the agreement of the Libyan parties. We underscore our unflagging support for United Nations efforts, including those of UNSMIL, to move the Libyan settlement process forward. Russia shares the international consensus that the United Nations has a central role to play in this process. We express the hope that in the very near future, we will see the appointment of a Special Envoy and Head of UNSMIL.

The situation in Libya has seen positive momentum recently. However, the overall situation remains delicate and fragile. At this critical moment, China, together with others in the international community, supports the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in pursuing the implementation of its mandate. China thanks the United Kingdom for its efforts as penholder in facilitating the renewal of the UNSMIL mandate. Regrettably, however, issues relating to human rights, gender and ceasefire monitoring, inter alia, were not properly resolved in the resolution, which is why there is still room for improvement. China’s proposal to mandate UNSMIL to assist Libya in advancing in the implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the proposal of other members to offer ceasefire-monitoring arrangements should be agreed on by the parties concerned. Neither of these issues has been duly reflected in the resolution. As a result, China had no choice but to abstain in the voting. We hope that, at the next consultations on the draft resolution on UNSMIL mandate renewal, the opinions of all parties will be heeded more fully and their concerns better accommodated in order to strive to reach consensus. Last but not least, I would like to reiterate that China will continue to play a constructive role in achieving lasting peace and sustainable development in Libya at an early date.

Indonesia welcomes the adoption of resolution 2542 (2020). We would also like to thank the penholder and members of the Security Council for their engagement. Since the current conflict in Libya started in April 2019, the Council has stated again and again that there is no military solution for Libya. To that end, the role of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) is indeed crucial. The resolution we adopted today means the following: no more fighting, no more foreign interference. Indonesia voted in favour of the resolution in support of the work of UNSMIL and its leadership in brokering peace in Libya. The resolution provides space and flexibility for the Mission to facilitate a long-standing ceasefire as well as to protect the people in Libya, including its efforts to fight coronavirus disease. We call for a strong UNSMIL after its being weakened for more than six months. As Libyans face a new chapter ahead at this time, it is timely for new leadership at UNSMIL to be appointed. Indonesia also acknowledges the international efforts that have been made for Libya, including the Berlin process and the facilitation of the intra-Libyan dialogue by the Kingdom of Morocco, and we also recognize Tunisia for supporting and hosting UNSMIL. In a renewed partnership, we now have the opportunity to save lives in Libya. Let us continue the momentum and move forward to attain a lasting peace.

Let me begin by saying that we welcome the very wide support from members of the Security Council for resolution 2542 (2020), adopted to renew the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). I would also like to say that I am surprised by the decision of Russian and China to abstain in the voting. I listened very carefully to the Russian Ambassador’s explanation of his vote. Council members and Council colleagues will know that once the Russian Federation raised its concerns over the language in the resolution after it had gone under silence, we were very quick as penholders to accommodate them. We understood the concern around consultation, which is why we added new language to the draft text in response, and that new language makes clear that UNSMIL would only be involved in implementing a ceasefire “once it is agreed by the Libyan parties” (resolution 2542 (2020), para. 1 (iv)). I cannot think of any way in which this does not make clear that there will need to be consultation with the Libyan parties or that they are not responsible for any decisions about a ceasefire. Again, I listened to the explanation of vote of my colleague from China. Indeed, there were a number of requests from China to remove language supporting the human rights agenda and on conflict-related sexual violence. We removed a number of those references at China’s request. However, other members of the Council feel that they are important issues. While they compromised in good faith to secure a consensus text, they were not ready to compromise to that extent. It is my hope — and I hope that I can ask our Russian and Chinese friends to join me in that hope  — that, despite those abstentions today, all Council members will support the resolution and the new Special Envoy — who, we hope, will soon be appointed — in working with the Libyan parties and external actors to bring about a sustainable political settlement, which is what the Libyan people desperately need.

Tunisia voted in favour of resolution 2542 (2020), since we believe it is important to support the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. Tunisia will continue to make every effort to assist the Mission and to help our Libyan brothers to make progress towards a comprehensive lasting settlement through intra-Libyan dialogue and to alleviate the suffering of the Libyan people so as to restore stability and peace to Libya and the neighbouring countries. We thank the United Kingdom, as penholder, and all other countries for their contributions towards achieving the adoption of the resolution.