The UN Security Council adopted a resolution Tuesday under pressure from the United States endorsing a change in structure for its mission in Libya, which will in the future have a special envoy and a "coordinator."
Thirteen of the 15 Council members voted for the resolution, with Russia and China abstaining.
The new structure accompanies a one-year renewal for the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), decided after more than six months of squabbling.
It is now up to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to appoint people for the new roles, AFP reported. The resolution states that "UNSMIL should be led by a Special Envoy of the Secretary-General... with a particular focus on good offices and mediation with Libyan and international actors to end the conflict."
Under the envoy's authority, "an UNSMIL Coordinator shall be in charge of UNSMIL's day-to-day operations and management."
UNSMIL has not had a special envoy since Ghassan Salame stepped down in March for health reasons, and bickering between the United States and its partners on how the role should be defined has stalled naming a successor.
The resolution requests that Guterres define within the next two months "steps required to reach a lasting ceasefire" and to simultaneously provide "proposals" for possible UN "monitoring."
Finally, the text calls for "full compliance" with the arms embargo.
