Attachments
I. Introduction
1 . The present report, submitted pursuant to Security Council resolutions 2510 (2020), 2542 (2020), 2570 (2021), 2647 (2022), 2656 (2022) and 2702 (2023), covers political, security and economic developments in Libya. It provides an overview of the human rights and humanitarian situation in the country and the activities of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) since the issuance of the previous report (S/2023/967), dated 7 December 2023.
II. Political and security-related developments
2 . The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of UNSMIL, Abdoulaye Bathily, pursued his efforts to convene the main Libyan actors under UNSMIL auspices to facilitate a political settlement that would pave the way for the holding of transparent and inclusive presidential and legislative elections. Unfortunately, limited progress was made on the political track as some of those actors did not nominate their representatives for the preparatory meetings or set preconditions for their participation. The Special Representative also continued his outreach to Libyan civil society, including women, young people, political parties, security actors, notables and tribal leaders, professional associations and academics, to make the political track more inclusive. In addition, he continued his engagement with security actors across Libya to discuss ways to mitigate the risk of spillover from crises in neighbouring countries and to establish the conditions for a safe environment for elections.
3 . The deadlock in the political process, coupled with a deteriorating economy, led to protests in various locations in western Libya, primarily Misratah and Zawiyah, against the Government of National Unity. In a statement issued on 29 February 2024, 76 members of the House of Representatives and 51 members of the High State Council called for the launch of a political process on the basis of the deliberations of the “6+6” joint committee and the formation, under United Nations auspices, of a new national government to organize and supervise the conduct of elections (see S/2023/248, paras. 5 and 13; and S/2023/967, paras. 10, 11 and 40).
4 . Tensions between Libyan actors and institutions in the east and the west continued in the aftermath of Storm Daniel, which hit eastern Libya in September 2023, including because of disagreement over the management of reconstruction funds. At a press conference on 3 January, the Attorney-General, Siddiq Al Sour, announced that investigations had found negligence in the maintenance of the two dams that had collapsed in Darnah on 10 and 11 September 2023, and that proposals for the construction of a third dam had been ignored. To date, 16 officials, including the mayor of Darnah, had been charged with malpractice. Of those, 14 remained in pretrial detention and 2 had fled the country. Demonstrations were also reported in several locations in southern Libya, during which demands were made for improved infrastructure and public services, in particular the supply of electricity and fuel. In the western region, demonstrations took place in Tripoli on 11 March and Misrata on 19 March, amid the decline in the value of the Libyan dinar, limitations on access to foreign currencies and an unpopular surcharge imposed on official currency sales.