UNSMIL tells Security Council Libya remains divided as human rights abuses, migration and election obstacles persist

A United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) representative told the Security Council that Libya remains politically divided and unstable, with competing institutions, continuing human rights abuses and armed actors impeding progress toward national elections.

UNSMIL said an advisory committee of 20 Libyan experts — 35 percent women — has been established to examine contentious elements of the electoral law that have prevented national polls, and that the committee has recently convened in Tripoli and reconvened for further meetings to develop options for overcoming those obstacles. The mission is also facilitating structured political dialogue and consultations among Libyan economic experts, including a meeting in Tunis, to identify priorities for economic governance.

The advisory committee is not a decision-making body but its proposals are intended to support efforts to remove legal and procedural barriers to holding national elections, the representative told the council. The briefing stressed that national elections depend in part on agreement over an overarching fiscal framework; UNSMIL said no progress has been made on a unified budget or agreed spending framework, and urged resolution to support the Central Bank of Libya’s stabilization efforts.

On governance, the representative said a dispute over the leadership of the Libyan Audit Bureau has…