Nayed says UNSC’s Urgent Action Can Restore Unity and Sovereignty of Libyan People

September 26, 2021

His Excellency, Ján Kubiš,
UN Special Envoy on Libya,
Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)

Greetings, Your Excellency.

In light of the latest disturbing maneuvers, by various actors of the Libyan status-quo political class, aimed at them maintaining power and privileges as long as they possibly can, at the cost of the continued suffering of the Libyan people, it is time that the United Nations Security Council urgently acted with firmness and determination.

The latest political posturing by both the HoR and the NUG, the escalating populist rhetoric, and the reckless manipulation of Libya’s public funds and media by the NUG/CBL/MB alliance, seriously risk the very unity of Libya, and make further civil strife and even full-scale war or armed uprising real frightening possibilities.

There now exist sufficient local and international juridical bases for the UN SC to impose and fully implement Libyan direct Presidential and Parliamentarian Elections on December 24th 2021, with strict monitoring and support from a UN Elections-Support Mission, backed up by a sizable African Union (AU) ground participation, and possible American and European aerial monitoring.

Local Juridical Bases:

For Presidential Elections:

  • HoR Decree 5 2014.
  • HoR Decree 1 2021.
  • The non-binding consultative views already issued by SC.
  • Technical opinions of the HNEC.

For Parliamentarian Elections:

  • HoR Decree expected this week, or
  • GNC Decree on which 2014 Elections was based, and which is still the law-of-the-land in case no new Decree was passed by the HoR.
  • The non-binding consultative views already issued by SC.
  • Technical opinions of the HNEC.

International Juridical Bases:

  • UNSC Resolutions 1970 and 1973.
  • UNSC Resolutions regarding Libya, up to the last two.
  • Protection-of-Civilians Doctrine, which was used to intervene in 2011, and which should be now used to fix the tragic results of that intervention.
  • Chapter 7 of the UN General Charter.
  • Outputs of various International Conferences on Libya, including Paris, Palermo, Berlin I, Berlin II, Geneva and others.
  • The LPDF Roadmap.
  • Signed commitments to the LPDF Roadmap by the Presidential Council and Prime Minister of the NUG.

The HoR has already turned the NUG into a ‘Care-Taker Government’, by withdrawing confidence in it. That Government must be clearly instructed by the UN SC to stick to its mandate and to its commitments, including:

  • Preparation and facilitation of the Presidential and Parliamentarian Elections.
  • Honoring of all the commitments signed by the PC and PM of the NUG, including the commitment not to run for the upcoming Elections.
  • Stopping all use of public funds and public media towards the derailing of the Roadmap and Elections, or the free-campaigning of the PM, who had already committed not to run. The honoring of that commitment must be imposed by the UN SC.

Your Excellency, after World War II, the UN helped create Libya as a united sovereign State. The UN must now courageously and firmly intervene to protect Libyan unity and sovereignty. The UN must now humanely interfere to protect Libyan civilians against the predatory malpractices of the self-perpetuating and procrastinating status-quo political actors.

 Only United Nations Security Council’s determination and urgent action can restore to the long-suffering Libyan people their basic human-rights of choosing their own leadership, in clean well-monitored direct Presidential and Parliamentarian Elections.

Your Excellency’s support for such an approach is greatly needed, and would be highly appreciated.

I would be happy and honored to discuss any details in a Zoom call, at Your Excellency’s convenience.

Thank you very much for your kind consideration.

Aref Ali Nayed,
Chairman,
Ihya Libya (Reviving Libya)