UN Security Council: UAE blocks former Algerian FM from Libyan envoy
3 Min Read
As the UN scrambles to find a new envoy to Libya, the UAE, representative of the Arab group on the UN security council, blocks the proposal by the UN Secretary-General.
-
Session of the UN Security Council
Diplomatic sources said that during Monday's session of the UN Security Council, the UAE blocked a proposal by the UN Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, to appoint former Algerian Foreign Minister Sabri Boukadoum as the UN envoy to Libya.
The UAE is the current representative of the Arab group on the UN security council, despite being a non-permanent member.
"During the session devoted to the Security Council to discuss the situation in Libya, several countries, including France and Ghana, stressed that this vacancy, since last November, should be filled as soon as possible," one of the sources told AFP.
Another diplomat told AFP that "the UAE alone rejected Boukadoum's appointment."
According to other diplomats, the UAE made it clear during the session that "Arab countries and Libyan parties expressed their opposition to the appointment of Boukadoum as an envoy to Libya," but they did not specify which countries or parties refused to appoint the former Algerian official.
After several failed attempts to fill the vacant position earlier in the month, Guterres proposed to the 15 members of the Security Council that Boukadoum be appointed envoy to Libya.
Read more: Turkey extends military intervention in Libya for 18 months
In turn, the Russian Deputy Ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, criticized the Western countries, which Russia believes seek to remain in possession of the Libyan file.
The Secretary-General of the United Nations called for "following a considered and balanced approach" in his search for a new envoy to Libya, stressing "the need for him to take into account in his choice the views of the Libyan parties and regional actors."
Polyansky stressed that "the dictates of the Western camp, which considers Libya its backyard, must be rejected.”
In parallel, the Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations, Rose Marie DiCarlo, announced, during a session of the UN Security Council held at the permanent headquarters of the United Nations, the organization's readiness to facilitate a dialogue between the Prime Minister of the Government of National Unity in Libya headed by Abdel Hamid Dbeibah, and the Prime Minister-designate of Parliament, Fathi Bashagha.
On April 20, the UN Security Council discussed extending the mission of the United Nations Mission in Libya, but the Council did not extend the mandate in the long term. The extensions of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya were all on a few monthly bases given the Council’s failure to agree on the name of the next envoy.
Read more: No deal with end of UN mediation in Libya
The United Nations envoy to Libya, Stephanie Williams, said that she "agreed during a meeting with Algerian Foreign Minister Ramtane Lamamra on the importance of maintaining calm and avoiding any provocations or inflammatory rhetoric," and stressed that "Lamamra expressed Algeria's full support for the efforts of the United Nations in Libya."
It is noteworthy that the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya expires on July 31.
According to a Libyan diplomatic source, the next UN envoy will be the ninth to hold this position in 11 years.
