UNSMIL: Statement During Briefing

Thank you Mr. President

I thank Mr. Ján Kubiš, Special Envoy of the Secretary General, Amb. Tirumurti, Chair of the 1970 Committee and Dr. Lamees BenSaad, member of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum for their briefings.

I welcome the presence of Amb. Taher Elsonni, Permanent Representative of Libya.

Kenya acknowledges the important role played by the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in support of Libya's peace process especially at this critical time. We also acknowledge the great support extended by neighbouring states, other states and regional organisations in this regard.

Mr. President, during yesterday's briefing on Libya, we reminded of the need for all of us to remember the genesis of the conflict in Libya. We welcome all members of the Security Council, and the International Community at large, to undertake their own assessments of the last decade in Libya to identify the lessons we need to learn to avoid a repeat of the blunders and self-interested interventions that have characterised the International Community's interaction with Libya and the region.

Notwithstanding this, commendable progress has been made to resolve the political conflicts that have generated so much violence. The people of Libya have conveyed their resoluteness in rebuilding and restoring. The first international Libya Stabilization Conference hosted by the Government of National Unity on 21st October, in Tripoli, is testament to this.

To secure the gains achieved so far, foreign interference in Libya must stop. Such interference is also characterized by the continued presence of foreign fighters and mercenaries, with a destabilising effect, not only on Libya but also, on the region.

Therefore, Kenya welcomes the Comprehensive Action Plan for the gradual, balanced, and sequenced withdrawal of mercenaries, foreign fighters, and foreign forces from Libya, signed by the 5+5 JMC on 8 October and emphasize the importance of its implementation. We urge international support towards this.

We also welcome the arrival in Tripoli of the first group of UN monitors to support the Libyan ceasefire monitoring mechanism in October, and reemphasise the need of guarding the process as a truly Libyan-led and owned one.

We call on support from member states, regional organisations and the UN towards the requisite corresponding security sector reforms and disarmament, demobilisation and reintegration.

As Libyans move closer to 24 December, we commend the work already done and the more that is ongoing in preparation for the elections, such as voter registration and registration of candidates for the presidential elections.

We however note that there remains deep divergence of views regarding the legal framework for the elections. Secondly, campaign seasons easily give rise to inflammatory and divisive remarks and some have already been spewed out in this case. We are calling on Libyans to draw from the importance of dialogue and the national reconciliation process to resolve these from the view of their country's common good.

Mr. President,

We must not forget or abandon the thousands of migrants who are suffering intolerable treatment as they seek to reach the shores of Europe.

Making this statement in the aftermath of the disappointing outcomes in Glasgow, we can only observe, as has been done often in the last few days, that unless there is determined efforts to invest in climate adaptation in the Sahel and West Africa, the boats in the Mediterranean shall continue to fill with desperate refugees. Intercepting migrants or aiding their interception at sea and return to Libyan ports will in the end become an even bigger global crisis.

We call for greater responsibility in taking actions responding to the link between climate change to the political and economic crises it produces leading to the growing number of African climate refugees.

We support the proposed Statement by the President of the Security Council as it Constitutes the much-needed Security Council voice in support for Libyans.

We also look forward to the substantial renewal of the UNSMIL mandate to reflect the gains so far, signal the Security Council's support and pave way for the implementation of envisaged improvements under the mandate.

We recall that all Libya's frozen assets are to be preserved and eventually returned to and for the benefit of the people of Libya. We, therefore, emphasise the need to consider appropriate reviews in respect of this. We also encourage implementation of the sanctions in liaison with Libyan authorities and welcome relevant discussions in this regard.

Finally, Kenya continues to express solidarity with the people of Libya and calls for respect of Libya's territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Thank you for your attention.