United Nations Security Council Resolution 2702 – The situation in Libya (UNSMIL)
Resolution 2702 (2023)
The Security Council,
Recalling its resolution 1970 (2011) and all its subsequent resolutions on Libya, including resolutions 2259 (2015), 2510 (2020), 2542 (2020), 2570 (2021), 2619 (2022), 2629 (2022), 2647 (2022), and 2656 (2022), its Presidential Statement of 16 March (S/PRST/2023/2), and its press statements,
Reaffirming its strong commitment to an inclusive Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process, facilitated by the United Nations, and supported by the international community, which builds on the updated electoral laws agreed by the 6+6 Committee, and which will enable the holding of free, fair, transparent and inclusive national presidential and parliamentary elections across Libya as soon as possible,
Takes note of Presidential Election Law No. 28/2023 and Parliamentary Election Law no. 27/2023 adopted by the House of Representatives (HoR) of Libya on 5 October 2023, and further notes that implementation of these laws requires the commitment of all parties and a political settlement on outstanding politically contentious issues related to elections,
Recalling that all Libyan stakeholders previously gave strong guarantees to support and respect the independence and integrity of the electoral process, as well as the elections results, calling upon all stakeholders to uphold these guarantees, and further calling upon all stakeholders to redouble their efforts to resolve outstanding politically contentious issues related to elections, through United Nations-facilitated dialogue, and in a spirit of compromise, in order to create the conditions and circumstances for elections, including a secure environment, deliver elections on the basis of viable electoral laws, and end the transition period,
Expressing concern about the security situation in Libya, particularly the violent clashes between armed groups in the Tripoli region on 14 August 2023 and in Benghazi in early October, resulting in civilian casualties and destruction of civilian infrastructure, underscoring the importance of early conflict prevention efforts, calling on all parties to make progress on the political and security tracks, and to comply with their obligations under international law, in particular international human rights law and international humanitarian law, to establish peace and stability across Libya, urging all actors to refrain from using incendiary rhetoric, hate speech, misinformation and disinformation which could fuel further divisions among Libyans and undermine the political process,
Expressing its strong condemnation of the indiscriminate use of weapons, in populated areas and their consequences for the civilian population and calling upon all parties to refrain from such practices in accordance with their obligations under international law, particularly regarding the protection of civilians in armed conflict,
Recognising the important role of neighbouring countries and regional organisations in support of the United Nations, recalling resolution 2616 (2021), expressing concern over the impact of the conflict on neighbouring countries, as well as the impact of conflict in neighbouring countries on Libya, including with regards to threats arising from terrorism, especially in the Sahel, the illicit transfer, destabilising accumulation and misuse of weapons and the flow of armed groups and mercenaries and encouraging further international support and regional cooperation between Libya, neighbouring countries and relevant United Nations bodies, including the Peacebuilding Commission, in support of peacebuilding and sustaining peace in the country and the region,
Expressing concern at the threat posed by the diversion and proliferation of arms and ammunition in Libya and other countries in the region, which undermines stability, and calling on key Libyan institutions, with support from the United Nations, to take steps to secure and effectively manage stockpiles, clear explosive ordnance and explosive remnants of war from hazardous areas, and protect civilians from the risks of unplanned explosions at munition sites,
Underlining the need to plan for the disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration of armed groups and all relevant non-state armed actors, as part of an integrated, comprehensive and coherent approach to peacebuilding, including the return of their members to their countries of origin, further underlining that this should include regional coordination and take into account peacebuilding needs and priorities,
Recognising the need to plan for security sector reform and the establishment of an inclusive, unified, accountable, civilian-led security architecture for Libya as a whole, and calling on the Libyan authorities to engage and achieve progress on this issue,
Welcoming the commitments of the 5+5 Joint Military Commission and the two Chiefs of Staff towards reunification of the Libyan military and security institutions and the creation of joint military units to secure Libya’s borders and uphold the 23 October 2020 ceasefire agreement, and encouraging further efforts in this regard,
Urging Libyan institutions and authorities to ensure the full, equal, effective, meaningful and safe participation of women at all levels, including in leadership positions, and in all stages of activities and decision-making relating to inclusive political processes, democratic transition, reconciliation efforts, conflict resolution and peacebuilding, recognising the need to protect women, women’s rights organisations, and women peacebuilders from intimidation, threats reprisals and attacks, strongly encouraging all parties to create a safe and enabling environment for members of civil society, including those who promote and protect human rights, to carry out their work independently and without undue interference, including in situations of armed conflict, and to address threats, harassment and violence, to counter hate speech against them, and to protect and promote human rights and fundamental freedoms, including freedom of expression, peaceful assembly and association, in accordance with obligations under international law, to help enable free, fair, transparent and inclusive elections and national reconciliation, supporting the efforts of UNSMIL to facilitate wider engagement and participation of women from across the spectrum of Libyan society in the political process and public institutions, including meaningful representation of women in Libya’s legislative bodies, and recognising that the political process should be inclusive of all Libyans, including youth and civil society,
Recalling that Libya’s oil resources are for the benefit of all Libyans and need to remain under the exclusive control of the National Oil Corporation, calling on all parties to allow the National Oil Corporation to undertake its work without disruption interference, or politicisation, and to ensure oil and gas revenues are managed in a transparent, equitable and accountable manner with effective Libyan oversight,
Recalling the importance of Libyan oversight over Libya’s economic and financial institutions, which includes the responsibility to ensure the transparent, equitable and accountable management of revenue across the whole country, reaffirming the importance of establishing a Libyan-led mechanism bringing together stakeholders from across the country to set spending, recognising, in this regard, the efforts of the High Financial Committee on revenue management, taking note of the announcement to further the unification of the Central Bank of Libya, and reiterating UNSMIL’s role in helping to consolidate the economic arrangements of Libyan institutions,
Reaffirming its intention to ensure that assets frozen pursuant to paragraph 17 of resolution 1970 (2011) shall at a later stage be made available to and for the benefit of the Libyan people, and calling upon all relevant Member States to protect frozen assets for the future benefit of the Libyan people, including by preventing misuse and misappropriation of frozen assets,
Expressing concern at the inadequate living standards and insufficient provision of basic services and the situation of internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Libya, including the inability of IDPs to safely return to their homes due to the presence of explosive hazards and threats of retaliation, further expressing grave concern about the smuggling of migrants and refugees and human trafficking through Libya, and at the situation faced by migrants, and refugees, including arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, and their exposure to sexual and gender-based violence, underlining the importance of tackling the root causes of the smuggling of migrants and human trafficking, welcoming the work of UNSMIL in coordinating and supporting the provision of humanitarian assistance for refugees and migrants, calling on the Libyan authorities to take steps towards the closing of migrant detention centres and to alleviate urgently the suffering of all people in Libya by speeding up the delivery of public services to all parts of the country, and urging all parties to allow and facilitate full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access,
Recalling resolution 2510 (2020), which demanded that all parties to the conflict comply with their obligations under international law including international humanitarian law, and emphasising that those responsible for violations of international humanitarian law and violations and abuses of human rights must be held accountable,
Urging all parties to implement the relevant resolutions on Women, Peace and Security Agenda and to prevent and respond to conflict-related sexual violence, and calling on the Libyan authorities to end impunity for sexual and gender-based violence crimes in line with relevant Security Council resolutions, including resolution 1325 (2000),
Recalling the importance of the protection of children, as set out in relevant Security Council resolutions, and taking appropriate measures in this regard, expressing concern about reported violations and abuses against children in Libya despite the 23 October 2020 ceasefire agreement, in particular those involving the killing and maiming of children, the abductions of children, sexual violence committed against children, and the recruitment or use of children, and urging all parties to immediately end and prevent such practices,
Recognising that protracted conflict and political division in Libya has made the country more susceptible to the humanitarian impact of natural disasters, including floods, and other weather events associated with the adverse effects of climate change, among other factors,
Underlining the importance of the United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework 2023-2025, which demonstrates the commitment of Libyan stakeholders and the United Nations to work together through a humanitarian, development, and peacebuilding nexus approach to address the structural causes of fragility and remaining humanitarian needs to drive transformative change and transition to sustainable peace and development across the country, in support of the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals,
Recalling its determination in its resolution 2213 (2015) that the situation in Libya continues to constitute a threat to international peace and security,
- Decides to extend until 31 October 2024 the mandate of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), as an integrated special political mission to carry out its mandate, as set out in resolution 2542 (2020) and paragraph 16 of resolution 2570 (2021);
2. Reiterates its support for the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Libya and Head of UNSMIL, Abdoulaye Bathily, in particular his mediation and good-offices role to further an inclusive political process, in line with relevant Security Council resolutions, building on the basis of the Libyan Political Agreement and the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap, and building on the updated electoral laws agreed by the 6+6 Committee, and calling uponthe international community to fully support SRSG Bathily and UNSMIL in the implementation of their mandate;
3. Reiterates its request for UNSMIL to implement the recommendations of the Independent Strategic Review (S/2021/716), including by strengthening the use of strategic communications to support the mission’s activities further reiterates its request that, in the implementation of the recommendations of the Strategic Review, UNSMIL explores all avenues to increase efficiency and redeploy existing resources, including through prioritisation and the reconfiguration of tasks and resources, as needed and where appropriate, in particular in order to facilitate an effective, sustainable political process and with a focus on expanding the Mission’s footprint and operations in eastern Libya, and requests the Secretary-General to update the Council on the implementation of the recommendations of the Strategic Review in the reporting requested in paragraph 11 of this resolution;
4. Recalls the LPDF Roadmap, regrets that a number of its deliverables have yet to be achieved and its timelines were not met, underlines that the objectives and governing principles as set out in the LPDF Roadmap, in particular articles 1, 2 and 6, are still relevant to the political process, including the principles of financial responsibility, anti-corruption and transparency, rejects actions that could lead to violence or greater divisions in Libya, and recognises the desire of the Libyan people to have their say in who governs them through elections;
5. Urges the Libyan political institutions and key stakeholders to resolve outstanding politically contentious issues pertaining to elections as soon as possible, and in this regard, calls upon Libya political institutions and key stakeholders to engage fully, transparently and in good faith with SRSG Bathily in a Libyan-led and Libyan-owned, UNSMIL facilitated negotiation in order to deliver free, fair, transparent and inclusive national presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible across the country, on the basis of viable electoral laws, aiming at, inter alia, forming a unified Libyan government able to govern across the country and representing the whole people of Libya;
6. Welcomes the support provided by the United Nations to the Libyan High National Elections Commission (HNEC), and encourages the continuation of this support to enable the HNEC to deliver free, fair, transparent and inclusive national presidential and parliamentary elections across Libya, as well as local elections across Libya;
7. Underlines the importance of an inclusive, comprehensive national dialogue and victim-centred reconciliation process based on the principles of transitional justice, welcomes the efforts of the Presidential Council to launch the national reconciliation process, and the support of the African Union in that regard, including to facilitate a meeting on national reconciliation in Libya in the coming months, welcomes in this regard the convening in Brazzaville on 20 July of the Preparatory Committee for national reconciliation, recognises the important role of other regional organisations, including the League of Arab States and the European Union, and calls upon the relevant Libyan institutions and authorities to implement confidence-building measures to create an environment conducive for successful national presidential and parliamentary elections, including by ensuring the full, equal, effective meaningful and safe participation of women, and inclusion of youth and civil society representatives, in all activities and decision-making relating to democratic transition and reconciliation efforts;
8. Expresses concern at the humanitarian situation in Libya, in particular following the catastrophic flooding in eastern Libya, expresses sincere condolences to the families of those who lost their lives and to those affected, commends the solidarity demonstrated by the Libyan people in response to the floods, calls oninternational partners to provide humanitarian assistance, in coordination with the Libyan authorities and the United Nations, calls on the Libyan authorities and relevant stakeholders to allow and facilitate full, safe and unhindered humanitarian access to those in need, and underscores the need for a coordinated national platform, supported by UNSMIL, to release funds for the long term reconstruction efforts, and for the reconstruction to be managed and distributed transparently, with effective oversight and accountability to the Libyan people;
9. Emphasises that there can be no military solution in Libya, calls upon all parties to refrain from violence or any other actions that could escalate tensions, exacerbate conflicts, endanger civilians and undermine the political process or the 23 October 2020 ceasefire in Libya, which should be implemented in full, recalls the recent violent clashes in Tripoli in August 2023 and in Benghazi in early October, and requests UNSMIL, in line with its existing mandate and resources, facilitate confidence building measures, dialogue and reconciliation between armed actors to prevent violence and conflict escalation through UNSMIL’s mediation and good offices;
10. Recalls that the measures set out in resolution 1970 (2011), as modified by subsequent resolutions, shall apply to individuals and entities determined by the United Nations Sanctions Committee to be engaging in or providing support for acts that threaten the peace, stability or security of Libya or obstruct or undermine the successful completion of its political transition, including by obstructing or undermining the elections, and demands full compliance by all Member States with the arms embargo imposed under resolution 1970 (2011), as modified by subsequent resolutions;
11. Urges all Member States to respect fully the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity of Libya;
12. Calls on all parties to implement the 23 October 2020 ceasefire agreement in full, including the Action Plan agreed by the 5+5 Joint Military Commission in Geneva on 8 October 2021, which is to be implemented in a synchronised, phased, gradual and balanced manner, and urges Member States to respect and support its full implementation, including through the withdrawal of all foreign forces, foreign fighters, and mercenaries from Libya without further delay;
13. Requests the Secretary-General to report to the Security Council on the implementation of this resolution every 60 days;
14. Decides to remain actively seized of the matter.
Adopted by the Security Council at its 9458th meeting, on 30 October 2023
