The United Nations chief on Monday urged world powers and other countries with interests in Libya’s long-running civil war to keep working toward a lasting ceasefire between its rival governments, warning that the country’s very future "is at stake.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres implored participants at a virtual ministerial meeting co-hosted by the United Nations and Germany to encourage and support peace efforts “not only in words but in actions,” including full and immediate implementation of a widely violated UN arms embargo.
“The violations of the embargo are a scandal and call into question the basic commitment to peace of all involved,” he said in remarks to the closed meeting, released by the UN “Foreign deliveries of weapons and other military support must stop immediately.”
Germany has been trying to act as an intermediary in the conflict, and in January held a summit in Berlin where participants from the east-based Libyan National Army (LNA) and Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) agreed to respect an arms embargo and push Libya’s warring parties to reach a full ceasefire. That agreement has been repeatedly violated.
Guterres noted that the Berlin commitments also include restoring due process in Libya and preventing arbitrary detention in the north African nation, stressing that “this, too, is essential.”
“We must also see the immediate, permanent and unconditional lifting of the blockade on the country’s oil production and exports, which has had a crippling impact on the economy,” he said.
Guterres said the UN mission in Libya is preparing for a series of meetings and consultations “that would facilitate the resumption of inclusive intra-Libyan political talks — Libyan-led and Libyan-owned.”
Arab League Secretary General Ahmed Aboul-Gheit said the situation in Libya is still “fragile and complex.” He called for participants to “unite efforts behind the United Nations to enable it .... to organize the expected Libyan dialogue forum.”
The virtual meeting came amid international pressure on both sides of war and their foreign backers to avert an attack on the strategic city of Sirte.
Guterres said he has been “encouraged” in recent weeks and months “to witness a lull in the fighting,” with a stalemate around Sirte and direct confrontation between both sides “limited.”
Recent rounds of talks in Egypt and Morocco resulted in positive steps by the warring sides, that included a preliminary deal that aims to guide the country toward elections within 18 months and demilitarize the contested city of Sirte. They also agreed to exchange prisoners and open up air and land transit across the country’s divided territory.
LNA commander Khalifa Haftar also allowed the reopening of vital oil facilities last month allowing production for the first time since powerful tribes loyal to him closed oil fields and terminals in January to chock off their rivals amid the Tripoli attack.
Stephanie Williams, the top UN official for Libya, said Friday that the meeting “comes at a crucial moment.” She pointed to “some encouraging developments in Libya” including talks on security, “the long-term agreements on transition, and progress on the question of oil exports.”
Germany’s deputy UN ambassador, Günter Sautter, said Berlin hopes participants in the meeting — co-chaired by Guterres and Maas — will renew their commitments to the Berlin road map and its implementation.
“We hope that they will call on the parties to accelerate efforts to achieve a ceasefire,” Sautter said. “We hope that continuing blatant violations of the arms embargo will end.”
