India Statement at the UNSC Meeting on United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL)

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25 July 2022

Thank you Mr. President,

Let me begin by thanking ASG Martha Pobee for her briefing today.

  1. We are closely following the developments in Libya. The recent protests and the continuing political disagreements are a matter of concern. We welcome the progress that was made when the Presidents of the House of Representatives and High Council of State met in Geneva late last month (28-29 June 2022). It is imperative that all outstanding political issues are resolved peacefully by the parties concerned, keeping in mind the larger interests of the Libyan people. We hope that all parties will work together to maintain peace and stability in Libya. In that regard, we also take note of the meetings held between the military leaders in Tripoli last week.
  2. The immediate priority for Libya is to hold Presidential and Parliamentary elections at the earliest in a free, fair, inclusive, and credible manner. We look forward to an early consensus between the Libyan parties on the constitutional basis for holding the elections. The reports of clashes, continued mobilization and activity of armed groups is a worrying sign. There are real risks on the ground of losing the momentum that was generated by signing of the Ceasefire Agreement.
  3. We remain concerned at the resurgence of terrorist activity in Libya, and we reiterate that terrorist groups and affiliated entities must not be allowed to operate unchallenged in Libya. This menace is bound to have cascading effects on the Sahel region and it is therefore important for the international community to focus on it now and nip it in at this stage itself, so as to avoid its collateral consequences on terrorism in Africa.
  4. The critical necessity of the full and complete withdrawal of foreign forces and mercenaries cannot be overemphasized. We are yet to see signs of tangible progress on this count. Continued presence of foreign forces and mercenaries is detrimental to the peace and stability of the country and the region. In this regard, we express serious concerns about the repeated violations of the arms embargo in Libya. In this regard, the UN Panel of Experts of the Libya Sanctions Committee in their recent report have categorically pointed out, and I quote “the remainder of the training provided by Turkey to the Government of National Unity Affiliated Forces is military or naval in nature and thus a violation of Paragraph 9 of UN Security Council Resolution 1970 (2011)” Unquote. Moreover, in the same report the UN Panel of Experts have also “noted the continuous presence of Turkish backed Syrian fighters in the Government of National Unity Affiliated Forces military camps in Tripoli.”
  5. We reiterate that the sovereignty, unity, and territorial integrity of Libya needs to be safeguarded. The political process must be fully Libyan-led and Libyan-owned with no imposition or external interference.
  6. India has traditionally enjoyed close and mutually beneficial bilateral ties with Libyan people, and we remain committed to supporting Libya and the Libyan people in their endeavour to bring about lasting peace and stability.

I thank you, Mr. President.

 

 

 

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