UN says Libya roadmap stalled as special representative warns of judicial split

Summary

The UN spokesperson reported that Hannah Tete briefed the Security Council that Libya’s House of Representatives and High Council of State have not completed the first two steps of the roadmap; unilateral actions and inability to use agreed mechanisms have eroded credibility and risk dividing the judiciary.

Steph, the UN spokesperson, said Hannah Tete, the secretary-general’s Special Representative for Libya, briefed the Security Council that there has been 'no meaningful progress' in dialogue between the House of Representatives and the High Council of State on the first two steps of Libya’s agreed road map.

Steph said Tete told members that despite sustained engagement by the UN mission, the two institutions’ failure to employ agreed mechanisms and their resort to unilateral actions have undermined their credibility in Libyan eyes. She warned the situation is deteriorating and that an increasingly divided judicial system could have serious implications for unity, governance, elections and human rights.

Steph described the division of legal systems as a 'red line' that, if crossed, could undermine the unity of the state. The briefing contained no new timetable for a political process or details of enforcement measures; the statement was presented as a situation assessment delivered to the Security Council.