UNSC Briefing and Consultations on UNSMIL/Libya

(24.10.2022; 1000 hours)

Statement by Ambassador Ruchira Kamboj

Permanent Representative of India to the UN

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Mr. President, 

    I would like to thank SRSG Abdoulaye Bathily for his briefing and assure him of India’s full support.

2.    The situation in Libya is indeed concerning, as we have heard from the SRSG. The Security Council expressed its condemnation of the violent clashes in Tripoli. However, as we saw last month, more clashes between armed groups occurred in Libya leading to civilian casualties. 

3.    As we have been repeatedly mentioning, the political stalemate and the subsequent mobilization of armed groups in Libya have the potential to undermine the gains made since the signing of the Ceasefire Agreement in October 2020. There is no military or armed solution to the issues facing Libya. This point needs to be emphasized by the international community, including by this Council.

4.    The immediate priority is to resolve all outstanding issues in arriving at a Constitutional basis for holding Presidential and Parliamentary elections. Holding elections at the earliest in a free, fair, inclusive, and credible manner is an urgent imperative.  

5.    Violent clashes that are recurring regularly between the armed groups bring into focus once again the dangers posed by the continued presence of foreign forces and mercenaries in Libya. Their presence in Libya is a violation of the Libyan Ceasefire Agreement of 2020 and goes against the pronouncements of the Security Council. Violations of Security Council resolutions, especially its provisions on arms embargo, are continuing with blatant disregard for peace and stability in Libya and the region. I would like to reiterate, what the UN Panel of Experts of the Libya Sanctions Committee in their recent report have categorically pointed out: “The remainder of the training provided by Turkey to the Government of National Unity Affiliated Forces is military or naval in nature and thus a violation of Paragraph 9 of UN Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011)”.

6.     We remain concerned at the resurgence of terrorist activity in Libya, and we reiterate that terrorist groups and affiliated entities must not be allowed to operate unchallenged in Libya. Terrorism emanating from Libya is bound to have cascading effects in the Sahel region and it is therefore important for the international community to address it, at this stage itself, so as to avoid its collateral consequences on the wider African continent.

Mr. President,

7.    The political process in Libya should be fully Libyan-led and Libyan-owned with no imposition or external interference. India for its part remains committed to supporting Libya and the Libyan people in their endeavour to seek lasting peace and stability.

Thank you!

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