The Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the United Nations (UN), Stéphane Dujarric, said that there are many aspects that give cause for concern about the Libyan elections.
In press statements, the Spokesman for the Secretary-General of the UN added, “we hope to create conditions for holding elections in Libya on time, and we also hope that all foreign fighters will leave Libyan territory.”
The UN Secretary-General, António Guterres, is mulling over the prospect of appointing the United States (US) diplomat, Stephanie Williams, as a Special Envoy for the UN to Libya, after outgoing Envoy, Ján Kubiš, resigned from his job, according to Foreign Policy magazine.
The magazine reported that Guterres considered appointing Williams, temporarily, as she had served as the acting UN Special Representative in Libya and Deputy Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), thus avoiding another controversial vote in the Security Council.
However, some diplomats do not expect the success of such a step, “because it would provoke the Russians,” according to the magazine. It also stated that Moscow prevented the appointment of British diplomat, Nicholas Kay, as the UN Special Envoy to Libya, as part of a diplomatic dispute ahead of the upcoming presidential and parliamentary elections.
Moscow previously blocked Guterres’ plan to make Williams his official special representative, and objected to his emergency plan to extend her mandate as acting Chief of mission.
In 2017, Russia also blocked the appointment of US-German diplomat, Richard Wilcox, a senior World Food Program (WFP) official who once served on the White House National Security Council.
Kubiš, who submitted his resignation on November 17th, was appointed as the UN Envoy to Libya in January.
In his final briefing to the UN Security Council on November 24th, he offered to remain in office through the upcoming elections to ensure a smooth transition. However by accepting his resignation, the UN Secretary-General decided to end Kubiš’ term on the 10th of December, two weeks before the scheduled elections.
The UN mission was plunged into uncertainty after Kubiš’ sudden resignation. This followed the surprise resignation of his predecessor just over a year earlier. Ghassan Salamé stepped down as UN Special Envoy in March 2020, citing personal health reasons and mounting frustration with how rival regional powers were stifling efforts to bring stability and a democratic transition to the conflict-torn North African country.