France’s Deputy Representative to the UN Security Council, Ambassador Nathalie Estival-Broadhurst has called for the appointment of a new Special Envoy to Libya without delay.
According to a tweet by the French Embassy, Broadhurst said that the appointment of the new envoy will enable the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to perform its tasks.
She added that Libya is passing through a critical stage in its political transition, after the postponement of the first round of the Presidential elections that were scheduled to take place on 24 December 2021.
“By voting in the Security Council in favour of extending the mission to April, France reaffirms its support for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. The Security Council must encourage the Libyans to resolve their differences to allow presidential and parliamentary elections to take place as soon as possible, in accordance with the roadmap of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF), endorsed by Resolution 2570,” she said.
The French diplomat called on “the members of the Security Council to restructure the United Nations Support Mission in Libya during the next mandate renewal period.”
Notably, the Security Council decided to extend UNSMIL’s mandate for three months. “By the terms of resolution 2619 (2022) (to be issued as document S/RES/2619(2022)), the 15-member Council extended the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) until 30 April, as laid out in resolution 2542 (2020) and paragraph 16 of resolution 2570 (2021).”
Recalling that UNSMIL should be led by a Special Envoy, it also recognised the Secretary-General’s responsibility to appoint an individual to that position, as set out in resolution 2542 (2020).
As members took the floor to explain their positions, many voiced regret that negotiations on the draft resolution failed to result in a substantive renewal of UNSMIL’s mandate, with updates and improvements to better facilitate its work.