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UN Official Voices Concern over Political, Electoral Stalemate in Libya

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
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UN Official Voices Concern over Political, Electoral Stalemate in Libya

French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh (Asharq Al-Awsat)
French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian and Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh (Asharq Al-Awsat)

UN Secretary-General Special Envoy for Libya Jan Kubis warned that institutional, political, and individual interests stand in the way of of finalizing the necessary legal framework for holding Libya's December elections.

“I am deeply concerned about the wider ramifications of the stalemate in the political, electoral track.”

Kubis was speaking at a UN Security Council Briefing on Libya in New York, chaired by French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian, and attended by Libyan Prime Minister Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh.

The Security Council issued a statement welcoming the conclusions of the second Berlin Conference on Libya and the collective efforts of Member States and regional and international organizations to assist the Libyan people in their quest for unity, peace, stability, and prosperity.

“I have advised the Speaker of the House of Representatives to consult with the High Council of State in line with the Libyan Political Agreement and to ensure that the legal and constitutional bases are in place for holding the elections on December 24, as per UNSCR 2570, Berlin-II conference conclusions and the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap,” said Kubis.

He stressed the need to “safeguard and advance the course to national inclusive, free, and fair parliamentary and presidential elections this December.”

The envoy called for increasing engagement with the Civil Society, including women and youth of the country.

The Security Council strongly urged the relevant authorities and institutions to take immediate action to clarify the constitutional basis for the elections and enact legislation to allow sufficient time and resources to prepare for the national presidential and parliamentary elections.

Kubis asserted that the presence of foreign forces and mercenaries and foreign fighters also threaten the ceasefire, noting that Libyan and international actors must agree on a plan to commence and complete the withdrawal of mercenaries and foreign forces.

“I also urge members of the LPDF to put their differences aside and come to an agreement on a proposal for the constitutional basis for immediate consideration and adoption by the House of Representatives, so that elections may be held on December 24,” stressed Kubis.

Meanwhile, the US Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Linda Thomas Greenfield, stressed that a political solution in Libya is possible, describing it as “necessary” and “urgent.”

However, she indicated that it requires elections on December 24, as planned, and parties must come together to ensure that happens by putting the needed legal and constitutional frameworks in place.

According to Greenfield, the Security Council must also continue to support efforts to resolve the issues surrounding military de-escalation and call for the immediate departure of foreign forces and mercenaries.

For his part, Dbeibeh said that holding the general elections on their scheduled date is a “national and historic choice.”

The Libyan people are entitled to elections on December 24, and fulfilling that pledge requires solidarity and close cooperation among all sides, according to Dbeibeh, who said that his administration is doing its part with the allocation of funds to the electoral commission.

He called on the House of Representatives and the High Council of State to assume their responsibilities and reach a consensus for elections to be held on time.

Meanwhile, the French Foreign Minister warned during his speech that any party in Libya obstructing the political process could face international sanctions.

Le Drian said the international community must act to address real threats to Libya’s political transition.

The electoral calendar must be respected, while foreign forces and mercenaries, whose presence violates Council resolutions as well as Libya’s sovereignty, must withdraw, he added.

For his part, the Secretary-General of the Arab League, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, indicated that the positive momentum that began with the first conference, including implementation of a ceasefire, formation of a Government of National Unity, and agreement on election dates, must continue to serve the interests of the Libyan people who have placed their hope in this process.

Aboul Gheit affirmed the League’s interest in holding the elections, noting that it will be a milestone to save Libya and preserve its sovereignty and territorial integrity; re-opening the discussion of the December 24 date will only generate further conflict.

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Arab World

West Bank Campus a Dystopian Shelter for Palestinians Uprooted Again

A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP
A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP
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West Bank Campus a Dystopian Shelter for Palestinians Uprooted Again

A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP
A man walks between empty student residences used by displaced families as shelters at the Arab American University outside Jenin, in the occupied West Bank. John WESSELS / AFP

On deserted university grounds in the occupied West Bank, Palestinian children run outside nearly empty buildings, their playground after being driven from their homes by a major Israeli "counter-terrorism" operation.
Between a stadium and flower fields where goats now graze, the children play to escape boredom. They have no school to go to since the Israeli military ordered residents to leave the Jenin refugee camp more than two months ago, said AFP.
Mohammed Shalabi, a 53-year-old father who is among several hundred Palestinians sheltering at the university campus in Jenin city, recalled the day he heard that special Israeli forces were inside the camp.
"Everyone knows that when the army enters, it destroys the infrastructure, even the cars," said the municipal worker.
Tens of thousands of Palestinians have been displaced from the northern West Bank since Israel launched the offensive dubbed "Iron Wall" on January 21 in the area.
Shalabi first left Jenin camp for nearby villages before authorities offered accommodation at the now vacant premises of the Arab American University, one of the leading institutions in the West Bank.
Shalabi said he has avoided "discussing all of this" with his 80-year-old father to protect his fragile health.
"But he understands, and sometimes he cries, because he lived through the Nakba, and now this..." said Shalabi, referring to the mass displacement of Palestinians in the war that accompanied Israel's creation in 1948.
No return
Now forced to leave their homes in the Jenin refugee camp, residents fear a repeat of the collective trauma they inherited.
The United Nations agency supporting Palestinian refugees, UNRWA, provides aid but recent Israeli legislation barring coordination with Israeli military authorities has complicated its work.
The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority, which has partial administrative control in the West Bank, lacks the funds to help.
Many international organizations are already focusing much of their efforts in the Gaza Strip, a separate Palestinian territory where the Israel-Hamas war since October 2023 has created a dire humanitarian crisis.
"No one is interested in what's happening here," said a social worker who often visits the displacement shelter at the university to hand out blankets, food or grocery money.
Public services like rubbish collection are rare or virtually non-existent. Many displaced residents have asked for a temporary school to be set up for the children but to no avail.
Most shops are closed, and the nearest supermarket is a 20-minute walk away.
All the while, Israeli army bulldozers operate in the Jenin camp, leaving behind a trail of destruction.
"They told us we no longer have a home, and that we won't be returning to the camp," said displaced resident Umm Majd.
Some camp residents who attempted to go back say they were turned away.
In early March, an UNRWA official spoke of growing concerns that "the reality being created on the ground aligns with the vision of annexation of the West Bank."
'Day by day'
The new, makeshift camp has come into being on the university campus in what appears like a dystopian landscape.
The campus buildings carry names that give them an international and prestigious air, like Casa Bella and Concorde.
But many of them, not long ago busy with students, are abandoned.
Others have become home to families of the displaced who now cram into tiny studio apartments that served as campus housing.
The families cook on gas stoves and sleep on foam mattresses that have to be put away every morning to create space.
"We have 20 percent of the life we had in the camp," said Umm Majd, sharing a two-person room with three others.
Farmers bring goats to graze in fields around the campus.
Many of the students that used to fill the university halls and dorms before the Gaza war were Palestinian citizens of Israel, who generally stopped crossing into the West Bank for their studies.
Eateries in the area are either closed down or being refurbished, the sign of economic hardships across the West Bank that have worsened throughout the Gaza war.
"We live day by day. There's no outlook because of the lack of work and resources," said Ahmad Abu Jos, 30.
His baby boy Mustafa is learning to walk in the tiny apartment space, filled with the smell of detergents and cooking.
The boy's mother, Rama Abu Jos, said: "We left the camp, but not of our own free will. We hope to return home. No one likes life here."