Libya’s political process regains momentum, but window for action is narrowing, UN envoy warns

This article is published in association with United Nations.

Libya has been mired in political dysfunction since the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, which shattered State institutions and triggered recurring struggles over legitimacy and power. 

The country’s current stalemate pits the UN-recognised Government of National Unity in the capital Tripoli against eastern-based authorities backed by the House of Representatives and General Haftar’s Libyan National Army – a split that deepened after planned elections in December 2021 were postponed indefinitely.

A road map underway

Briefing the Security Council on Thursday, Hanna Tetteh, the Secretary-General’s Special Representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission (UNSMIL), said the political process had regained momentum, though progress remained fragile.

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She described the UNSMIL-facilitated road map – covering elections, institutional unification, security, economic reform and national reconciliation – as “not merely a political imperative” but “a viable path” out of the country’s institutional paralysis.

A six-month “Structured Dialogue” engaging around 120 Libyans from diverse backgrounds has produced nearly 600 recommendations across governance, security, the economy and human rights, Ms. Tetteh said. 

The report has been broadly welcomed, and the task now is translating it into structured, Libyan-led implementation.

In parallel, UNSMIL has been facilitating direct talks between the Government of National Unity and LNA General Command, with both rival parliamentary chambers also participating. 

Discussions have been constructive, with agreement in principle on reconstituting the electoral commission, and negotiations underway on electoral laws.

A narrowing window

Ms. Tetteh was candid about the risks. “Libya now has a clearer set of political options with a narrowing window in which to act,” she told the Council, stressing that responsibility lay first and foremost with Libyan stakeholders. 

She warned that if the road map failed to advance, she would return to the Council with alternative proposals drawing on existing political agreements.

Security remains a concern. Disinformation about alleged UN plans to resettle migrants in Libya has fuelled violence against UN premises, including clashes in Zawiya and protests outside the UNHCR and UNSMIL offices in Tripoli. “The direction is known, the tools exist,” Ms. Tetteh said. “What is required now is the political will to deliver.”

Council reaction

Members broadly welcomed the progress while urging more. France said developments in the security and economic arenas were moving in the right direction but that greater efforts were needed to guarantee unity and stability. 

Russia cautioned that any settlement must be fully Libyan-led and warned that proposals failing to secure the buy-in of key leaders risked deeper destabilisation.

Libya’s own representative expressed reservations about the Structured Dialogue, saying its final report should have reflected a fuller range of views. 

He stressed that any political process must end the transitional period, respect Libyan sovereignty and avoid repeating past mistakes – and declared that Libya would “never be a country for the resettlement of migrants in any form.”

For full in-depth coverage of the Libya meeting go here.