On Wednesday, the outgoing Special Envoy and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Jan Kubis expressed his sincere gratitude to the UN Secretary-General and the Security Council for entrusting him with this position. He described the “honour” it was to work on helping Libya on its path towards stability, unity, and sovereignty.
In a farewell message on the last day of his tenure, Kubis said that he has worked on supporting Libyans to resolutely take responsibility of the fate of their country into their own hands. He added that “it was a privilege to support and accompany Libya taking the lead, ownership, and responsibility of the country, as prominently manifested in the participation of Libya as a sovereign and equal partner in critical international forums, notably, recent conferences of Berlin II and Paris Conference.”
“During my tenure, with the support of UNSMIL and the international community, the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) has moved steadily ahead with the preparations for the Presidential and Parliamentary elections, to start the polling process on 24 December 2021. As stipulated in the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap, and echoed in UNSCR’s 2570 and 2571, as well as Berlin II and Paris Conferences conclusions,” the UN diplomat noted.
He stressed that the holding of timely, inclusive, free and fair elections is “critical to breaking the cycle of perennial political transitions, returning to democratic legitimacy, starting to build a truly unified, prosperous, and sovereign state, and putting an end to foreign interference.”
Kubis added that the overwhelming majority of the Libyan people want elections, while many have natural and justified doubts and concerns. He appealed for all citizens to vote for candidates that would guarantee unity, stability, and sovereignty based on national reconciliation, justice, accountability, democracy, rule of law, and good governance.
In addition, he urged all voters to give a major chance to women and youths, claiming that abstaining from the elections and mobilising against them, “would only put the fate and the future of the country at the mercy of those inside Libya and their external backers who benefit from the present today’s debilitating and unsustainable status-quo, paralysis, and a divided, weak conflict-ridden country, and spreading instability in the region, and who prefer the power of the bullet to the power of the ballot.”
He also expressed his deep appreciation for the efforts of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC), for their diligent work towards the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and for maintaining the ceasefire.
“Finally, I would like to thank all Libyans, as well as leaders, authorities, and institutions of the country for welcoming me to accompany and support Libya throughout this critical juncture of its history. I would also like to thank the UN family in Libya for their efforts in support of bringing peace, stability, unity, and prosperity to Libya and its people.”