Libya Must Seize Moment to Advance Political Progress, End ‘Drawn-out’ Transition, Security Council Hears, as Public Anger Mounts over Power Outages, Rising Costs

Libya Must Seize Moment to Advance Political Progress, End 'Drawn-out' Transition, Security Council Hears, as Public Anger Mounts over Power Outages, Rising Costs

While Libya has made strides in advancing its ambitious political road map - aimed at unifying the country's divided institutions and paving the way for elections - widespread electricity shortages, economic turmoil and security flareups are driving public frustration at the slow pace of progress, the senior United Nations official in Tripoli warned the Security Council today.

"The need to move Libya's political process forward remains crucial," said Hanna Serwaa Tetteh, Special Representative of the Secretary-General and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Presenting the latest report of the Secretary-General on the Mission's work (document S/2026/661), covering the period from 1 April to 28 July 2026, she said Libya's challenges extend beyond political disagreements and directly affect the State's capacity to provide basic services, manage resources responsibly and ensure security.

Recent power outages and water disruptions across the country - exacerbated by a prolonged heatwave - have demonstrated the consequences of institutional division, poor coordination and underinvestment in critical infrastructure, she added.

However, recent months also have seen real progress in advancing a UNSMIL-facilitated road map, launched a year ago. She said the three-track plan has moved forward on two of its main pillars - namely, establishing constitutional and legal frameworks related to elections and holding an inclusive Structured Dialogue on governance challenges.

Progress on UNSMIL Road Map, with an Eye to Election Preparations

On the political track, she said UNSMIL established a "Small Convening" - also known as the "4+4 committee" - which has now met seven times since its inaugural session on 29 April and is considered to be more focused and manageable than previous versions of the group. "The Small Convening is reaching its conclusion, having addressed some of the most contentious issues in the legal and constitutional framework of elections," she said, noting that the group will meet next on 20 August. "Remaining steps entail agreeing on the mechanism for the endorsement of its outcomes," she said.

Regarding the Structured Dialogue process, which concluded successfully in June, she recalled that its recommendations cover governance, economic management, security, reconciliation and human rights and are intended to serve both the immediate political process and longer-term state-building efforts. UNSMIL will continue to engage with Libyan stakeholders, Council members and other partners as it prepares the next stage of the road map, focused on institutional reunification and election preparations.

Despite those positive developments, she said, Libyans continue to face daily challenges that are driving public frustration. In July and August, extensive electricity blackouts disrupted power and water supplies for hundreds of thousands of people. The crisis followed fuel shortages, declining gas supplies and mounting pressure on an already fragile electricity network.

Fuel Diversion Rife, Calls for Stronger Oversight

"The crisis highlights a striking paradox," she said. According to data from Libya's National Oil Corporation, approximately $1 billion is spent monthly on fuel imports, yet electricity systems remain vulnerable to fuel shortages. "Evidence of large-scale diversion of subsidized fuel in the electricity and security sectors […] underscores the need for stronger oversight, accountability and coordination," she stressed, describing the diversion of subsidized fuel as "an unacceptable abuse of public resources".

Voicing concern over the fragile security situation along Libya's western coast, with heavy clashes among armed groups and civilian casualties, she strongly condemned the recent assassination of Fawzi Mansuri, Director of Military Intelligence for the Libyan National Army, in a reported car bombing. There are also growing instances of hate speech, intimidation and misinformation against migrants and women - including a widely circulated video showing the public flogging of a woman in Sabha - which underscore the need to uphold Libya's human rights obligations.

Power Cuts, Climate Shocks Expose Crisis of Confidence

Civil society representative Nissa Bek also briefed the Council, sharing experiences from the ground "that are hard to capture in a report". While Libya remains a wealthy country, she said, too many of its people face daily insecurity, failing public services and "institutions that struggle to protect them". Compounding those challenges is climate change, whose shocks expose Libya's weaknesses, deepen existing vulnerabilities and increase the consequences of institutional failure.

"This is what climate insecurity looks like in Libya, and it requires us to think differently about what we mean when we talk about stability," she stressed. Protests erupted recently across Tripoli and other cities amidst prolonged power cuts during a heatwave that reached 50°C.

She emphasized, however, that the crisis is not just about electricity, but "an expression of a much deeper loss of confidence in the ability of the State to provide basic services". Libya has the resources, expertise and human capacity to do better, but - even as one of Africa's most energy-rich countries - it still cannot reliably provide electricity for its own citizens.

"That is a question of governance", she stressed. Proposing four areas of international focus, she urged the UN to incorporate climate and environmental risk analysis into its work in Libya. Critical civilian infrastructure must be protected and first-responding local institutions and locally led peacebuilding efforts must be supported. Peace in Libya means working lights, safe drinking water and functioning hospitals, she stressed. Civilians must trust their institutions to prevent a flood or heatwave from becoming a catastrophe.

Speakers Urge Libya's Leaders to Seize Opening for Political Progress

Council members took the floor following the briefings to share their perspectives.

The representative of the United Kingdom said the Libyan people are "telling us clearly" that they want progress. When progress stalls, stability is put at risk, she said, citing several concerning incidents in recent weeks. "The window for progress is open, but not indefinitely," she stressed.

France's delegate echoed those points, urging all Libyan actors to engage in the national road map process in good faith. Echoing other speakers' full support for UNSMIL and the Special Representative, he warned Libya's political factions that "maintaining the status quo is more costly than the search for a compromise".

The representative of Pakistan, noting both Libya's encouraging developments and ongoing challenges, emphasized the need to respect Libya's sovereignty and the wishes of its people. He joined several other speakers - including the representatives of China, Bahrain and Colombia - in stressing that an inclusive, Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process is the only viable way forward.

"It is for the Libyan actors, with the necessary political will, to build the consensus that is needed," agreed Panama's representative. Among other challenges, he voiced concern over the activities of criminal networks linked to smuggling and the illicit oil trade, which are depriving Libya of revenues and contributing to instability, and demanded strict respect for the Council's sanctions regime.

Alarm Bells to Protect Migrants, Refugees; Integrate Climate Risks into Peacebuilding, Conflict Prevention

"While progress has been made, the security situation remains precarious and demands urgent political action," said the representative of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, also speaking on behalf of Liberia and Somalia. All actors must uphold existing ceasefires, protect civilians and restore trust.

Greece's representative, meanwhile, cited migration as another major challenge. He underscored the need to combat smuggling networks, strengthen protection for migrants and refugees and address the root causes of displacement, while warning that misinformation, threats and hate speech targeting refugees and migrants only fuel hostility and further undermine social cohesion.

Several speakers focused their remarks on the climate alarm bells raised by Ms. Bek. Latvia's representative, praising the briefer's "powerful and personal testimony", urged Libyan authorities to integrate climate risk and international planning by strengthening coordination and institutional capacity.

Denmark's delegate, Council President for August, agreed with that assessment in her national capacity. She warned that, combined with weak infrastructure and institutional fragmentation, climate pressures can devastate livelihoods and prosperity. "These risks must therefore be factored into peacebuilding, conflict prevention and local mediation efforts," she stressed.

United States Lauds Libya's Steps towards Unification, as Russian Federation Points to 'Drawn Out' Political Process

The representative of the United States said her country has deepened its engagement with Libyan stakeholders across the country. Emphasizing that unification must serve all Libyans and preserve the country's sovereignty, she recalled several commitments made by Libya's defence leaders following a recent visit by a United States delegation - including to establish a joint operations centre in Sirte, an air-force training centre in Misrata and an integrated air command.

However, the representative of the Russian Federation warned against "original ideas" or novel approaches in Libya. Instead, peace agreements between the country's various actors should be scrupulously implemented. Noting that the situation continues to worsen amid a "drawn-out political process", he advocated for aligning the mediation efforts of individual external actors with those of the UN and warned that competing processes will only further confuse the situation.

Libya Must Own Its Future, Tripoli Insists, Decries 'Structured Theft'
of National Assets

Libya's representative, also addressing the Council, cited recent progress in negotiations towards the holding of his country's elections. "No political track can be legitimate without being based on the voice of the people," he stressed, rejecting significant external interference in Libya's political process over the years. Libyan ownership must move from an "announced principle" to a concrete process, he stressed.

Among other things, he called for full respect for the independence of the Central Bank of Libya and welcomed measures to allow the Libyan Investment Authority to retain revenues from frozen assets. "It is unacceptable that Libyan money will remain in foreign banks that are benefiting from it […] while their real value is being depleted due to inflation," he stressed, adding: "This is structured theft that we will not allow."