30 December- 5 January: UN proposes international monitoring group for Libya

Jan 6, 2021 | International actors

This week was marked by movements from the UN to form a Libyan monitoring group for deployment to central Libya to safeguard the 5+5 ceasefire arrangements, along with attempts to reinvigorate the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF).

On 29 December, the Turkish Ministry of Defence announced that it had begun a six-week programme in which it would provide underwater warfare training to the Government of National Accord’s (GNA’s) naval forces.

On 29 December, GNA Foreign Minister Mohammed Tahar Siyala met with his Russian counterpart, Sergey Lavrov, in Moscow to discuss political and military developments in Libya. During a joint press conference, Siyala said the GNA was asking for Moscow’s assistance ‘to evacuate foreign fighters from Libya.’

On 30 December, United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres wrote to the members of the UN Security Council (UNSC) requesting the creation of a security monitoring group for deployment to central Libya to safeguard the 5+5 ceasefire arrangements,. The group would consist of civilians and former soldiers from regional organisations including the African Union, the European Union and the Arab League. In his letter, Guterres called on national, regional and international stakeholders to respect the 23 October ceasefire and the UN arms embargo on Libya.

On 2 January, Acting Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams, issued a statement announcing that UNSMIL had formed an 18-member Advisory Committee for the LPDF. The committee is tasked with ‘discussing the outstanding issues related to the selection of a unified executive.’