US Ambassador, AUC chairperson discuss appointment of UN Special Envoy to Libya
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - US Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, has announced that he has discussed with the Chairperson of the African Union Commission (AUC), Moussa Faki, efforts to appoint a new Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to Libya.
Since the resignation last November of the UN Secretary-General's Special Envoy to Libya, Slovak Jan Kubis, the UN Security Council has been unable to agree on a successor, prompting UN chief Antonio Guterres to circumvent this obstacle by appointing US diplomat Stephanie Williams as Special Adviser to the UN Secretary-General on Libya.
The Security Council is due to hold a session before the end of July to renew the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), which is the subject of a disagreement between the United States and Russia, which has prevented a one-year extension as usual, making do with four temporary technical extensions.
In addition, the UN executive body's work is stalled over the appointment of a new Special Envoy of the UN Secretary General to Libya, which is among the topics for the upcoming session on Libya.
African countries want the new Special Envoy to Libya to come from the continent, according to African diplomatic sources in the UN Security Council.
The US ambassador to Libya was quoted in a tweet from the embassy on Tuesday as saying that he met in Addis Ababa with the AUC Chairperson to discuss the role of the AU in supporting reconciliation, security and stability in Libya in a way that benefits the regional security of AU members and other countries outside Africa.
Last Monday, the US Ambassador to the AU, Jesse Lapenn, and Mr. Norland met with their counterparts from AU member states, including Algerian Ambassador El-Hamdi Salah, Chadian Ambassador Hassan, and representatives of African countries, who are currently members of the UN Security Council.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 13July2022
