Is Libya’s Political Impasse Impacting The Security Situation? – OpEd

The militias took control of the western region of Libya, which prompted the new UN envoy, Abdoulaye Bathily, to enter through several overlaps; the first support of the Libyan Joint Military Committee and its commitment to the (5+5) agreement, to expedite the implementation of the ceasefire agreement, half of which represents the general command of the Libyan army, while the other half represents their counterparts from the military establishment in the west of the country; the second is to solve the crisis of disarmament in the hands of those armed elements; the third is to drive the mercenaries out of the country.

Bathily wants an international push towards a solution in Libya, not to conduct dialogue between the military parties while the dialogue does not address the most important essential points of disarming the militias in western Libya.

“The United Nations and the Security Council are able to adopt the model of disarmament by force, as happened in many countries of the world,” noting that the United Nations insists on adopting the model of dialogue with armed groups, although it knows very well that the first obstacle to any solution in Libya is the exit of militias. And the model of disarming by force is the Libyan army class in the east of the country, which succeeded by 100%. The United Nations also worked on the disarmament week, which began on October 24, and aims to enhance awareness and improve understanding of disarmament issues and their comprehensive importance. The call also came to commemorate the final document of the Special Session of the General Assembly on Disarmament held in 1978, and in 1995, the General Assembly called on governments as well as non-governmental organizations to continue to participate actively in the activities of Disarmament Week in accordance with resolution (50/72 B of 12 December 1995) to raise public awareness of disarmament issues.

Bathily, the new UN envoy to Libya, stressed that the constitutional process between the House of Representatives and the state must be completed, and we are ready to discuss implementation mechanisms. Consensus among all parties to the political process on a constitutional basis, establishing the electoral merits and finding a solution to the political crisis in the country.

The members of the assembly provided details of the proposal to organise a public forum for all parliamentary candidates, which will be held in Tripoli, Benghazi, Al-Jufra, and Tobruk, to support the right of the candidates to go to the elections and achieve the aspirations of the Libyan people.

The UN mission in Libya held meetings between the Constitution Drafting Committee of the House of Representatives and the state and the heads of both houses in Cairo and Geneva, which in its previous rounds ended in consensus on more than 90% of the articles of the constitutional rule for the elections, which are awaited by about 3 million Libyans who have officially registered their statements to contest the next election. But the question remains: why are some points still stuck between the two councils, especially in terms of candidacy for the presidential elections and the issue of voting?

There must be an agreement because the agreement is very important in the preliminary stage that precedes building the state, which cannot be achieved in light of conflicting authorities and parallel institutions. In addition to the political conflict and the conflict of competencies between the authorities, in light of an international economic crisis, general stagnation, major alliances, and the Russian-Ukrainian war and what it throws a shadow over the supplies of gas, oil, energy, maritime transport, and rising prices, the internal political consensus is important and fateful, and the divided institutions will not be able to withstand in light of all these facts, will exhaust their resources, and will be coveted by the influential and crisis-tracked.
Conflicts and division have caused severe damage to all sectors of the Libyan economy, including income, currency, public debt, oil production, imports of basic commodities, and the negative consequences they have had on the country’s main source of income, which is the oil sector.

The Central Bank of Libya must be unified so that it can fulfil its role and perform its tasks stipulated by law and not limit its role to the exercise of some traditional competencies, with regional conflicts and their repercussions on world economies, international wars and their effects, food crises, waves of recession and bankruptcy that afflict neighbouring countries, technological acceleration, and digital competition.

The Central Bank is an arm of the legislative authority, and the Central Bank cannot succeed in its tasks unless it adheres to the legal procedures. There must also be several files that must be paid attention to solve the financial and economic crisis in Libya, especially in the matter of unifying the Central Bank, including working under the supervision of the authorities and the legislative and executive power to put an end to conflict and chaos.

Oversight of commercial and quality banks is a basic task that must be carried out correctly and on a legal and practical basis, as is providing cash flow as an inevitable and basic requirement that must be met without restrictions. It is also necessary to support investment and development through credit facilities for private companies and facilities for social purposes for individuals, in addition to restructuring the distribution map of banks between cities and pushing them to open more branches. The Central Bank, under its control and supervision, expands the granting of licenses for commercial and specialized banks and licenses for exchange companies, and sets the necessary controls to ensure their good performance and open prospects for cooperation with international partners through official channels.