The absence of an official special representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya is preventing any progress in finding a way out of the political impasse and resolving the Libyan crisis, the government’s investment minister in Benghazi, Ali Saidi said.
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“We are very clear that the UN mission in Libya is not completed, it does not have full leadership, and since the arrival of Ms. Khoury (acting Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General for Libya Stephanie Khoury) until today, she has not been able to achieve any significant progress from “In the absence of this official status of a special envoy, the appointment of a special envoy could help draw up a clear road map to resolve the political impasse in Libya,” Saidi said, commenting on Stephanie Khoury’s announcement of a new plan to overcome the country’s current political stalemate.
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According to the Libyan minister, the UN’s actions are similar to the desire to prolong the crisis in the country instead of finding opportunities to resolve it.
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Khoury received the post of temporary special representative in the fall of 2022, after the resignation of Senegalese politician Abdoulaye Bathily from the post of special representative of the UN Secretary-General in Libya. In mid-December, the Libyan parliament based in Benghazi spoke out against Khouri’s initiative, announced on December 14 at the UN Security Council. Parliamentarians called the initiative of the UN special representative interference in the internal affairs of Libya and an irresponsible step in terms of finding a way out of the political crisis.
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There are two governments in Libya that do not recognize each other. The first, the Government of National Unity (GNU), supported by the UN and headed by Abdelhamid Dbeibah, operates in Tripoli. The second – empowered by the parliament (House of Representatives) sitting in the east of the country – is based in Benghazi and is led by Osama Hammad.
