UN Mediation in Libya: Peace Still a Distant Prospect

Multiparty mediation in a changing world: the emergence and impact of parallel processes to UN peacemaking in Syria and Libya

“…More broadly, regional and international competition over Libya was fierce. Egypt, the UAE, Russia and France attempted to boost Haftar's position by supporting him on the ground but also through diplomatic initiatives (Watanabe, 2019). France and Russia prevented strong statements, let alone measures, by the UNSC condemning Haftar's attack that had sabotaged the UN-led effort (Lacher, 2020, p. 54).…”

“…The malfunctioning of the Libyan Political Agreement and the lack of legitimacy of the Government of National Accord put the UN mediation in a delicate situation. On the one hand, it “came to be seen as partial because it supported the unity government, which had essentially become one of the parties to the conflict” (Watanabe, 2019, p. 3). On the other hand, the UN was accused of not doing enough to implement the Libyan Political Agreement and not standing against Haftar’s attempt to take over Libya by force [30].…”

“…However, Haftar’s Libyan National Army attacked Tripoli in April 2019 while the UN Secretary-General was himself in Tripoli, which led to the collapse of Salamé’s plan and eventually to his resignation (Pack, 2021). Haftar’s attack happened with “tacit diplomatic backing of some members of the international community, as well as the US” (Watanabe, 2019). Salamé later angrily revealed that “important countries not only supported the attack against Tripoli, but they were plotting exactly against the holding of the National Conference” [32].…”

“…Throughout the UN mediation processes in Libya, the UN lacked the much-needed support from the UNSC. As mentioned, even “members of the international community have at times been working against the UN-mediated deal, and the UN political process has lacked a means of changing their positions” (Watanabe, 2019, p. 3). More broadly, regional and international competition over Libya was fierce.…”

“…Overall, the UN-led peace process in Libya, like in Syria, can be seen as a conflict resolution approach because it considers a political transformation as indispensable for a sustainable peace. Indeed, the UN’s ultimate goal in Libya was a power-sharing agreement and elections (Asseburg et al , 2018b) to form a government through the replacement of “rival parliaments and associated governments with one set of political institutions acceptable to all” (Watanabe, 2019, p. 1). As such, the objective of the UN clearly went beyond stopping the violence and included a political transition process.…”