The French Ambassador to the United Nations, Nicolas de Rivière said that France would like to see a rapid resolution of the executive power crisis in Libya.
During his intervention at the Security Council, he added that the current status quo is unsustainable. “It carries risks for the stability of the country. The tensions between militias, which are increasing in Tripoli is proof of this. This crisis must be resolved, and a unified government must be established that is capable of conducting the electoral process throughout the country.”
He explained that there is an urgent need to put Libya back on the path to elections. “France supports the efforts of the United Nations to reach an agreement between the two chambers on a constitutional basis, in order to allow Presidential and Parliamentary elections to be held as soon as possible.” The Ambassador added that Paris continues to call on all Libyan actors to rapidly finalise an agreement, particularly on the eligibility of electoral candidates.
“The arms embargo must finally be respected. The IRINI operation makes it possible to ensure this in practice, as was recently demonstrated by action against a ship that violated the embargo. France calls for the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement,” de Rivière added.
He stressed the importance of the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries as soon as possible, in accordance with the Libyan action plan. As well as the implementation of a demobilisation, disarmament, and reintegration process, in conjunction with the region.
“We welcome the meeting in Tripoli between General’s Al-Haddad and Al-Nadhouri as part of the work of the joint 5+5 Joint Military Committee (JMC). This is a further step towards the reunification of Libya’s military and security institutions, which demonstrates a strong commitment to the stabilisation of the country and Libya’s sovereignty,” he noted.
De Rivière stated that France also welcomes the reopening of the oil terminals, “the resumption of production and exports is an important step. France will continue to support a fair and transparent redistribution of revenues for the benefit of the population as a whole.”
“We welcome the renewal of the mandate of the Fact-Finding Mission, which is essential to the fight against impunity. This is first and foremost the responsibility of the Libyan authorities, who must establish independent and strong judicial institutions. France calls on the Libyan parties to cooperate fully with the International Criminal Court (ICC), in accordance with Resolution 1970,” the French diplomat said.
“Finally, as the end of UNSMIL’s mandate approaches, France calls for a substantial renewal of its mandate in order to take into account developments in the situation over the past year. It commends the work of the Special Adviser, and reiterates its call for the appointment without further delay of a special representative in order to avoid a vacancy at the head of the United Nations Mission,” he concluded.