UNSMIL Head in Britain to Support Withdrawal of Foreign Mercenaries from Libya

As part of his outreach efforts to international community members, Special Envoy of the Secretary-General for Libya, and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ján Kubiš paid a visit to London yesterday and met with high-level British officials.

He held a meeting with the Rt. Hon. James Cleverly, Minister for the Middle East & North Africa in the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office, to discuss the progress made so far in the peace process in Libya, including the implementation of the ceasefire agreement and the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum Roadmap. The UNSMIL head and Mr. Cleverly emphasized the importance of holding the national election on 24 December as set out by the LPDF Roadmap and the swift withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces from Libya. The Special Envoy also met with Mr. George Hodgson, Head of North Africa Department at FCDO, his deputy Ms. Rosy Cave and other officials of the ministry.

The situation in Libya and the wider region, notably from the security perspective, were the focus of meetings the Special Envoy held with Lt.Gen. Roly Walker, Deputy Chief of Defence Staff (MoD), and separately with other officials from the Cabinet Office and security agencies.

The UNSMIL head also met with Mr. Martin Reynolds, Principal Private Secretary to the Prime Minister, and discussed with him the United Kingdom support, to the Libyan people and authorities in their quest for peace, stability, unity, and prosperity, including through the Security Council. He expressed his appreciation to Mr. Reynolds for his country’s continuous support to the UN efforts and the peace process in Libya.

The Special Envoy concluded his visit participating in the Libya de-escalation roundtable along with a number of government officials with various expertise.