Special Representative of the Secretary General Hanna Tetteh engaged with 239 Libyans Friday in an open Zoom call, discussing issues ranging from options to take the country to elections, to accountability measures for potential spoilers, to the inclusion of women, youth and persons with disabilities.
The online meeting, the second the SRSG has hosted in the last month, was part of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya’s ongoing efforts to increase two-way communication with the public about the political process.
Since May, the Mission has engaged nearly 1,000 people across the country in person and another 1,250 online, including focused meetings with community leaders, women, youth, unionists, cultural components, and persons with disabilities. Until 9 August, the Mission is also running a public poll on the proposals put forth by the Advisory Committee, a body of Libyan legal, constitutional and political experts that UNSMIL assembled to advise on the best options to resolve the political impasse and unify state institutions.
Everyone has a role to play in the success of any political process, SRSG Tetteh said, calling on Libyans to participate in the online poll and once the roadmap is announced, work with the Mission to hold their leaders accountable in its implementation.
“The situation has gone on for some time and it’s going to take a collective effort to change it,” she said. “Democracy, inclusiveness—they’re not events. They are processes. They are built over time.”
During the Zoom meeting, some expressed concern that many roads to elections have already been tried and failed, saying the only way forward is establishing a constituent assembly through a national dialogue forum to appoint a new government to oversee elections. Others spoke out in support of simultaneous presidential and legislative elections and a constitution-first approach.
“We have no trust in the bodies in power now,” one woman said “These need to be removed for any roadmap to be successful. They are prolonging the crisis and creating problems.”
The “actual power” is not with political bodies, but with armed groups, said another. “How can we have democracy with these forces on the ground?”
Others echoed her concern, pointing out that the security situation is not conducive to elections.
Several participants asked the Mission, “Are sanctions going to be a deterrent to obstructionists?”
The Advisory Committee recommended, in its’ report to UNSMIL, that a unified government be established prior to elections, the SRSG said, acknowledging that it has been a topic of discussion across UNSMIL’s public consultations.
“We think it’s important to have a unified government,” she said. “How that unified government comes about is a matter that will be part of the negotiation of the roadmap. How we approach that will be informed by the public’s feedback and other consultations.”
The SRSG emphasized, however, that the way for institutions to be changed is through elections. The goal is to move away from transitions to elections, she said, to a leadership with a mandate, who takes responsibility for Libya and who Libyans hold accountable.
“In developing a roadmap, it’s about how we get to elections and what needs to be done to make them happen safely,” she said. “There are actors who believe that they will be harmed, that their interests will be so badly impacted that their incentive is to spoil. That may jeopardize the process, so in designing this, and in engaging, we have to make it clear that we have to think through these challenges and manage them.”
The SRSG outlined some of the Advisory Committee’s proposals to address issues that have prevented elections from taking place in the past, including putting in place a legal framework that clearly settles issues about the timing of the elections and candidacy requirements.
“The legal framework also provides for sanctions,” she said. “It also addresses some of the security issues—not all of them, because some need to be dealt with operationally—but it deals with some of the security issues that need to be taken care of for successful elections to take place.”
One man asked what UNSMIL is doing to advance disability rights. Another inquired, “Are there guarantees to involve youth in the political process?” A woman expressed concern about the difficulties facing women who wish to participate in the political process, describing her experience as a candidate in municipal elections as “terrifying.”
“I was subjected to indirect threats, defamation and the abusive use of my personal photos on social media platforms—and also direct, face-to-face threats” she said. “Some personalities pressured me to withdraw mycandidacy.”
“I thank you for your bravery and your courage,” SRSG Tetteh responded. “I would say that Libya needs not just you, but all Libyan women to be able participate in discussions on your country’s future and in decision-making about how that future will come to pass. Sometimes there is a feeling that women’s voices don’t belong, but women wanting to participate is not about competing with men. Women’s voices will contribute to make society better.”
It is UNSMIL’s goal, she said, not only to champion women’s voices, but to represent all segments of the population’s interests—including persons with disabilities, youth, and cultural components—in negotiations about the political roadmap.
The Mission has withheld participants’ names and affiliations to protect their privacy.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
