UN Advisor Ends Libya Mission amid Renewed Tensions

Special Adviser to the United Nations Secretary-General in Libya, Stephanie Williams, will leave her position on Sunday

In her conclusion statement, Williams acknowledged efforts made by the country aimed at restoring lasting peace and stability after more than a decade of conflict but noted that national institutions should enjoy sovereignty.

She described Libyan politicians as “opportunistic and pursuing their own interests.”

She added that the recent protests in the country were a reaction to the politicians’ inability to reach consensus on a constitutional framework for elections because some people “hijacked Libya’s political future.”

On Thursday, the UN Security Council voted to extend the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for three months, amid local and international condemnation of this short period and its impact on the extent to which the mission could fulfill its tasks.

The UNSMIL is functioning, Haq stressed, noting that the officer in charge of that mission is the same as it has been, which is Raisedon Zenenga, and so he will continue to be the officer in charge until someone else is named.

On whether UN chief Antonio Guterres has any comments about Williams, Haq said: “She’s been doing an amazing job. In fact, we at the UN were hoping that we could continue to extend her time longer than the end of July, but as it turns out, she does have other commitments.”

“We are going to continue to look for a successor and to build on her accomplishments, and you’re well aware of the tremendous amount of work she did to make sure that Libya would have unified institutions and that its bodies would work together.”

“There continue to be hiccups in that effort,” he noted.

Williams worked in Libya for about four and a half years during which she was appointed to represent Guterres as his Deputy Special Representative for political affairs in the UNSMIL, succeeding Ghassan Salame.