UN Libya envoy warns Security Council political deadlock threatens state unity

Briefing the Council in New York, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General said that despite active UN engagement, the Libyan House of Representatives (the national parliament) and the High Council of State (the country’s top advisory political body) have failed to make progress on the first steps of the agreed political roadmap, including establishing a mechanism to select the board of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC) and advancing electoral legislation.

“Their inability to use their agreed mechanism and follow-on unilateral actions has further eroded their credibility,” she said, noting that Libyan public perceptions reflect a growing belief that the bodies are “unable or unwilling” to deliver.

Ms. Tetteh said she has begun consultations with key actors on an alternative two-step approach aimed at restoring momentum. Should a smaller group of Libyan representatives fail to agree on the roadmap’s milestones, she warned, a broader convening would be required. “We cannot wait indefinitely,” she emphasised.

Judicial divide

The UN envoy issued a stark warning about escalating tensions within Libya’s judicial system.

After the House of Representatives established a Supreme Constitutional Court in Benghazi in 2023, it began issuing rulings parallel to the Constitutional Chamber of the Supreme Court in Tripoli, creating conflicting judgements on key constitutional and legislative matters.

“These contradictory, parallel judicial decisions put into jeopardy the unity of the legal and judicial systems,” Ms. Tetteh declared, cautioning that the situation “is a red line that if crossed can undermine the unity of the state.”

She urged Libyan leaders to refrain from further escalatory steps and called on the Council to hold accountable those taking actions that threaten to fracture the judiciary.

Economic pressures deepening

Libyans are facing worsening living conditions driven by currency devaluation, rising prices and persistent fuel shortages, the envoy reported.

The Central Bank’s decision in January to devalue the dinar for the second time in nine months — by nearly 15 per cent — aims to ease foreign-currency pressures but is “impacting the purchasing power of vulnerable households,” she said.

With parallel institutions operating without a unified budget, public spending remains “rigid and largely unproductive”. Nearly 80 per cent of expenditures are consumed by salaries and subsidies, leaving little space for investment or recovery efforts, she added.

While recent licensing agreements in the hydrocarbon sector suggest a degree of renewed investor interest, they are unlikely to alleviate fiscal pressures this year.

Security and human rights concerns

Ms. Tetteh warned that transnational criminal networks continue to expand, turning Libya into a major transit hub for drug trafficking and sustaining illicit economies linked to corruption and armed groups.

A joint report issued on 17 February by the High Commissioner for Human Rights and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) highlighted severe abuses associated with human trafficking. In recent weeks, the bodies of 21 migrants were found in a mass grave in Ajdabiya, while more than 400 others — including women and children — were freed from detention sites bearing signs of torture.

“These incidents are not isolated,” she said, urging Libyan authorities and international partners to dismantle trafficking networks and bring perpetrators to justice.

Ms. Tetteh also noted ongoing targeted killings, referencing the death of Saif al-Islam Gaddafi, who was subject to an International Criminal Court (ICC) arrest warrant, in early February. She called for a transparent investigation.

“The only way forward is a political solution”

Closing her briefing, Ms. Tetteh warned that deteriorating economic conditions, rising poverty and a fragile security environment could trigger “unexpected political and security challenges”.

“The main cause of this dysfunction,” she said, “is a divided government, with limited coordination and unilateral actions on both sides.”

She urged all Libyan actors — supported by coordinated international engagement — to return to a political process capable of restoring unified governance. “The support of this Council remains a prerequisite for success,” she concluded.