The Secretary-General of the United Nations, António Guterres, sent a letter to the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) proposing the speedy approval of sending 60 monitoring personnel to Sirte. He added that the size of this team can be increased according to the requirements of the general security conditions in Libya.
According to Guterres, the Libya planning team at United Nations (UN) Headquarters established a multidisciplinary and inter-agency advance team. From the 3rd to the 28th of March 2021 the advance team conducted consultations with relevant stakeholders, including the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC), in Benghazi, Misrata, Sirte, and Tripoli.
He added that the advance team also conducted site visits to assess key operational, security, administrative, logistical and medical requirements. These all pertain to the ceasefire monitoring component which is to be established within the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) in support of the Libyan-led and Libyan-owned ceasefire monitoring mechanism.
He went on saying that, “taking into account the outcome of consultations with Libyan stakeholders, UNSMIL would provide a nimble team of ceasefire monitors to work alongside monitors from the 5+5 JMC. UNSMIL monitors would be deployed in a scalable and incremental manner, subject to the prevailing conditions on the ground. They would report to the Special Envoy through the Assistant Secretary-General and Mission Coordinator.”
Guterres explained that, “the proposed number of UNSMIL ceasefire monitors takes into account the Libyan request, as well as measures to allow regular rotation of personnel in and out of Libya while ensuring flexibility in the geographic coverage in the monitoring area.”
“Should the Security Council concur with my proposal, I would present to the General Assembly the requirements related to the deployment of the UNSMIL ceasefire monitoring component. The proposal would also cover logistical, operational and security needs to deliver these additional responsibilities.”