Washington, US— US Secretary of State Antony Blinken has welcomed the appointment by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres of Abdoulaye Bathily as Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.
“We support his efforts to mediate an agreement to establish a constitutional framework and timeline for elections in Libya,” stated Blinken on Twitter.
“The United States will provide full support to Special Representative Bathily as he mediates the Libya-led political process and we call upon the international community to work in lockstep with the Special Representative,” Blinken said in a statement Saturday.
He added that the US “encourages Special Representative Bathily to prioritize efforts to ensure transparency and accountability in Libya’s state institutions as well as the work of the UN ceasefire monitoring mission as it assists the Libyan 5+5 Joint Military Commission in overseeing the immediate withdrawal of all foreign forces, fighters and mercenaries.”
“The outbreak of violence in Tripoli in August underscored the unsustainability of the situation in Libya, making clear the need for all sides to work in good faith and with a sense of urgency to reach agreement on a constitutional framework and concrete timeline for elections,” added the statement.
“The Libyan people have demanded an opportunity to choose their leaders through free and fair elections, which are essential to confer legitimacy and ensure accountability for a new government,” he remarked.
The Security Council on Friday approved former Senegalese minister and U.N. diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the new U.N. envoy to Libya, ending a nine-month vacancy.