S/PV.8870 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/2021/838, 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/2021/716, which contains the text of a letter dated 6 August from the Secretary-General addressed to the President of the Security Council, and document S/2021/752, 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 2599 (2021). I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting. Dame Barbara Woodward (United Kingdom): Libya is at a critical point, and the Security Council has an important role to play. We must support the Libyan people as they look ahead to a more stable future, including through the elections planned for 24 December. It is essential that the elections take place on time and that they be credible and inclusive. The United Nations Special Envoy and his team have a vital role in support of that. We must also insist on the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement. That includes the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries, without qualification and without delay. We welcome the independent strategic review of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and look forward to seeing the implementation of its recommendations, including a return to a Special Representative of the Secretary-General based in Tripoli. As penholder, we worked hard to find a text that all Council members could support for the renewal of UNSMIL’s mandate. In the past two weeks, we engaged intensively to forge consensus and find a way forward. It is clear that there is a high degree of consensus, and I would like to thank those Council members who engaged constructively and showed flexibility throughout these difficult negotiations. In that light, it is regrettable that we were unable to secure the support of all Council members for a compromise text. We will continue to engage all Council members on a substantive renewal of the mandate ahead of the 31 January deadline, guided by the Council’s ultimate responsibility to support the future security and stability of Libya.

By voting in favour of resolution 2599 (2021), France reiterates its full support for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Its efforts are vital in supporting the political transition process and to prepare for the parliamentary and presidential elections to be held on 24 December. Its role is also key in order to move forward with the implementation of the ceasefire agreement of 23 October 2020, including through its support for the efforts of the Libyan people aimed at the withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries, with the support of the international community. The Security Council must restructure UNSMIL at the time of the next renewal, in January 2022, as requested by the Secretary-General. Such restructuring is not a goal in and of itself; it must be a tool to strengthen the effectiveness of UNSMIL’s work. Council unity in supporting Libya is now more important than ever. In order to strengthen the unity of the international community, France will organize, together with Italy, Germany and the United Nations, an international conference on Libya at the level of Heads of State and Government on 12 November in Paris. The goal of the conference is to show our ongoing support for the political process, in particular the legislative and presidential elections in Libya and the full implementation of the ceasefire and, more broadly, the stabilization of Libya, taking into account the regional implications of the Libyan crisis.

Today’s vote is an unfortunate outcome, especially for the Libyan people. It is also an unfortunate outcome for the Security Council. Today we have failed to implement the recommendations from the Secretary-General’s independent strategic review at a crucial time. The independent strategic review was clear that the Head of Mission should be relocated to Tripoli in order to increase engagement with Libyan actors. Considering the critical importance of United Nations support for the December national elections, the recommendations from the review should be implemented now, not months down the road. The report’s recommendations on the leadership structure of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) reflected the Libyan conviction that locating the Head of Mission in Libya is essential to the Mission. That was based in part on Libyans who shared their belief that the Special Envoy’s location in Geneva was a hindrance to the Envoy’s ability to engage with Libyan actors in a meaningful and regular manner. It is incumbent upon us to act with the urgency that the Libyan people deserve. Failure to restructure UNSMIL now serves only to undermine our collective efforts to stabilize Libya. We must ask ourselves today: how can we move forward in a manner that places the United Nations and the people of Libya in a position to build on previous diplomatic achievements? This outcome in the Council will not deter the United States from its firm support for the Libyan people as they move forward with national elections on 24 December. Critical efforts are ongoing to develop the constitutional and legal framework for those elections. The United States is fully supportive of those Libyan preparations. It is vital that the States Members of the United Nations undertake all possible efforts to advance a political solution to the conflict in Libya, including through supporting free and fair elections on 24 December and withdrawing all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libyan territory without delay. After 10 years of turmoil, the Libyan people are still striving for democracy and stability. We call on all members of the Council to work together expeditiously over the next few months to adopt a mandate that will offer the best approach to resolving stalemates and encouraging the political process. The people of Libya deserve nothing less.

My country’s delegation wishes once again to express its appreciation for the efforts made by the United Nations Special Envoy, Mr. Ján Kubiš, and all the personnel of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). In the framework of supporting the political process in Libya, we wish to reaffirm our commitment to continuing to ensure that the Mission has all the necessary facilities. We also value the efforts of UNSMIL within its mandate to achieve a rapprochement between the parties and to ensure that the elections take place according to the timeline. We were keen to be positively involved in the negotiations on the draft resolution pertaining to the renewal of UNSMIL’s mandate, and we had hoped that the Council would today reach a consensus on an integrated resolution in particular at this crucial point in the political settlement in Libya. Although there are relative differences in the viewpoints, we believe that the basis for the political settlement in Libya still enjoys unanimity in the Council. That is something that we must build on. In that context, we hope that all members of the Council without exception will continue to work to ensure that a consensus is reached so that the Council can discharge its responsibilities effectively and play a pivotal role in supporting a comprehensive political settlement in Libya.

Kenya thanks the penholder and fellow members of the Council for their commitment to the peace process in Libya. It is clear that we all want the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to succeed, particularly at this critical juncture of the transition in Libya. However, the technical rollover of UNSMIL’s mandate is indicative of the failure of the Council to reach a common understanding and approach to facilitating UNSMIL’s success. More critically for Kenya, the technical rollover represents a missed opportunity for the inclusion of important elements, including support for Libya’s national reconciliation efforts, and taking into account issues of interest to neighbouring States and the region and acknowledging the important role that they play in support of the peace process. While we acknowledge the efforts of the penholder and all members, it is disappointing that the protracted, intensive negotiations, with respect to which we also recognize the efforts of the penholder, did not yield the much-needed consensus for a compromise text. The Security Council must be cautious as to the message it is sending out to the Libyan people and to the world. It should not appear that Council decisions are influenced by a few. Indeed, to avoid sending out the wrong messages to the people of Libya and the region, we must listen to Libya, and we must listen to Africa. We recall that the African voice was strong in seeking inclusion in the top leadership during the last mandate renewal. We therefore urge the Council to listen better to Africa, and this includes placing Africans in the leadership of peace processes in Africa. We must walk the talk of inclusion. Finally, Kenya remains committed to the peace process in Libya, and we will fully continue engaging with all members of the Council, Libya and the States and organizations of the region to come up with decisions that effectively respond to the interests of the people of Libya.

After a decade of conflict, Libya is generally on the right track of political transition and national reconstruction. China appreciates the positive efforts by all parties in the country in this respect. China supports the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in playing a more active and constructive role in helping Libya implement the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) road map and in achieving a political settlement of the Libyan issue, in accordance with the principle of Libyan ownership and leadership and relevant Council resolutions. Based on the foregoing, China supports the extension of UNSMIL’s mandate. At present, the political process in Libya is at a critical stage. We hope that all parties in the country will demonstrate the requisite political will and act in accordance with the LPDF road map to ensure the holding of elections at the end of the year, as scheduled. China supports the holding, after the election and in the light of the development of the situation, of a discussion to consider adjusting the leadership of UNSMIL, and we support a Libyan-owned and Libyan-led political process. At the same time, we would emphasize that foreign troops and mercenaries should withdraw in a balanced and orderly manner, so as to avoid any risks and challenges to the security of Libya and neighbouring countries. In conclusion, I would like to reaffirm that China will continue to stand with the Libyan people and work with the international community for the achievement of lasting peace and development in the country.

The Russian Federation voted in favour of resolution 2599 (2021), which extends the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to 31 January 2022. First of all, we are convinced that there is no alternative to a comprehensive, peaceful settlement of the Libyan crisis under the auspices of the United Nations, and the United Nations must play a central role in the process. We think that the consensus on resolution 2599 (2021) shows the ongoing support of the international community for the Libyan people at a very sensitive and very momentous stage in the political process, namely, in the run up to the December presidential and parliamentary elections. We agree with our colleagues in the Security Council when they say that the conclusions on the recommendations over the independent strategic review of UNSMIL, including the idea of making adjustments to the structure of the Mission, would be best implemented at the end of the electoral process in the country, which is so important for the Libyan people. We call upon all actors in Libya to use the Security Council’s support as well as that of UNSMIL to overcome the various differences that have accumulated among them. We also call upon them to work together in conducting the elections slated for 24 December, which will start a new page in the history of the Libyan State. Since it is my understanding, Madam President, that today’s meeting is the last meeting over which you will preside in the Irish presidency for the month of September, I would like to express my gratitude to you for the way you have been steering the Council during a complicated month for the Council, in which we had the high-level week. I think I speak on behalf of all of our colleagues in the Council when I say, Madam President, that you managed make sure that the Irish presidency of the Council was effective and useful and that it shone very brightly. You managed to keep consensus among us, Madam President, and we hope that will continue. We are very happy today that we managed to achieve consensus on resolution 2599 (2021) on a very important issue.

Before adjourning the meeting, I would like to say that, as the representative of the Russian Federation has pointed out, this is the last scheduled meeting of the Security Council for the month of September. I would therefore like to express the sincere appreciation of the delegation of Ireland for every single member of the Council and for the Secretariat of the Council for all the support that has been given to us. It has been a busy month — one in which we did rally consensus on several important issues in our purview. We certainly could not have done that alone, and especially not without the hard work, support and positive contributions of every single delegation and the representatives of the Secretariat, including the conference service officers, interpreters, verbatim reporters and security staff. As we end our presidency, I know I speak on behalf of all Council members in wishing the delegation of Kenya the best of luck — Go n-éirí an t-ádh leat in my own national language — for the month of October.