UN envoy in Libya pleads for resumption of political process
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The UN Secretary General's Special Representative and Head of the Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salamé, has urged the UN Security Council to return to the political process in Libya, calling on the UN body to "expand the mandate of the UN mission" there.
In his presentation on Wednesday by videoconference from UN headquarters in Tripoli, Salame also called on the United Nations Security Council to "renew its call on member states not to provide weapons to Libya".
Salame said: "The mission has documented 40 cases of violation of the arms embargo imposed on Libya by many countries", encouraging the Security Council to "add provisions in the work of the mission allowing them to impose a ceasefire".
Salame said more than 100 civilians were killed, more than 300 wounded and 120,000 civilians displaced by the ongoing conflict in the city of Morzouk, and in the south-west of the country, expressing concern over the widening geographical circle of the conflict in Libya.
"Since April 4, the geographical scope of the conflict has widened, causing many casualties, both civilians and fighters", Salamé said in his statement to the Security Council.
He added: "Today coincides with the 5th month after General Haftar launched his offensive to control Tripoli, which resulted in the cessation of the active and promising political process and the return of the country to a state of conflict", calling on the Security Council to strongly support its mission.
The UN envoy in Libya warned the UN Security Council against "two worrying scenarios" in Libya because of the ongoing conflict, calling for more international efforts to urge the parties to stop fighting, resume dialogue and resume the political process.
"We are faced with two disturbing scenarios: the first is to continue the conflict and increase the terrorist threat and the second is to double the reinforcement of foreign military mobilization," said Salamé.
He also warned that "doubling the military support provided to one of the parties by external support will bring the entire region into chaos".
The UN envoy also pointed out that he had made several visits in recent days to some countries to hold an international meeting on Libya, noting that he will continue his visits in the coming days to mobilize an increased support for this meeting, the date of which has not yet been set.
Mr. Salamé's plan to end the crisis includes two meetings, one bringing together the foreign countries involved in the Libyan dossier and the other between Libyans intended to complete the political process.
Salamé said the mission regularly receives reports of "arbitrary arrests of immigrants and refugees, ill-treatment and inhumane conditions of those in detention, including serious overcrowding, lack of food and water".
"Following my call for the gradual closure of all detention centers for migrants and refugees, the Interior Minister ordered on August 1 to close three of these centers and the United Nations recommended to the government a national agreement of an emergency plan on alternative choices to the arrest of migrants and refugees".
He explained that this plan included "freeing them in cities by providing them with assistance and providing them with health care, allowing them to enter the labor market and to consider durable solutions for them outside Libya, as these centers must be closed by a gradual and deliberate process to provide the necessary means for the relevant United Nations agencies to assist this vulnerable group".
-0- PANA BY/IS/KND/VAO 4Sept2019
