Guterres Appoints New Representative for Libya

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)
TT
20

Guterres Appoints New Representative for Libya

Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)
Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana, the new envoy to Libya (UN)

United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres announced on Friday the appointment of Hanna Serwaa Tetteh of Ghana as the global body's new envoy to Libya, replacing Senegal's Abdoulaye Bathily who stepped down last April.

Before joining the United Nations, Tetteh was a senior member of the cabinet of the Government of Ghana as Minister for Foreign Affairs from 2013 to 2017, and member of the National Security Council and the Armed Forces Council. She also served as Minister for Trade and Industry from 2009 to 2013.

Tetteh, who has been Secretary-General Antonio Guterres's special representative to the Horn of Africa for the past two years, is the 10th person since 2011 to occupy the sensitive post of special envoy and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Tetteh's appointment requires endorsement by the UN Security Council, according to AFP.

The post, in a North African country riven by conflict and civil war for over a decade, had been vacant since the surprise departure last April of Bathily.

At the time the Senegalese diplomat warned of a “lack of political will and good faith” by Libyan leaders and said the United Nations could not “operate successfully” in such a climate.

Libya has been mired in political chaos and conflict since the overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.

 



Gazans Must Return Home, EU Plans to Tell Israel 

A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
TT
20

Gazans Must Return Home, EU Plans to Tell Israel 

A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)
A Palestinian man and two girls stand a mid of the rubble of homes, destroyed by the Israeli army's air and ground offensive against Hamas in in Bureij refugee camp, central Gaza Strip, Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (AP)

The EU plans to tell Israel next week that Palestinians uprooted from their Gaza homes should be ensured a dignified return and that Europe will contribute to rebuilding the shattered territory, according to a document seen by Reuters.

That echoes Arab positions but conflicts with President Donald Trump's stated aim for the US to take over the shattered coastal strip and rebuild it into a "Riviera of the Middle East" while Gazans emigrate to other nations.

The EU, which has been a major aid provider to Palestinians, is to outline its position to Israeli officials in talks in Brussels on February 24 as part of the EU-Israel Association Council, the first such session since 2022.

A document outlining the draft EU position emphasizes both Europe's commitment to Israel's security and its view that "displaced Gazans should be ensured a safe and dignified return to their homes in Gaza".

"The EU will actively contribute to a coordinated international effort to early recovery and reconstruction in Gaza," it said, also calling for full humanitarian access.

"The EU deeply deplores the unacceptable number of civilians, especially women and children, who have lost their lives, and the catastrophic humanitarian situation notably caused by the insufficient entry of aid into Gaza, in particular in the North."

Israel launched its assault on Gaza after fighters from the Palestinian group Hamas stormed southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, killing 1,200 people and taking more than 250 hostages, according to Israeli tallies.

More than 48,000 people have been killed in Gaza, according to Palestinian health officials. Much of the enclave has been laid waste with most of its 2.3 million pre-war population displaced multiple times, humanitarian agencies say.

"The EU strongly opposes all actions that undermine the viability of the two-state solution," the document added, referring to its position that Palestinians should have an independent homeland alongside Israel.