Ambassador Dorothy Shea
Chargé d 'Affaires ad interim
New York, New York
February 19, 2025
AS DELIVERED
Thank you, Mr. President, and I thank, Under-Secretary-General Rosemary DiCarlo, for your briefing and your attention to the Libya file.
We appreciate your steadfast commitment to ensuring the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, retains qualified leadership, and we welcome the Secretary-General's appointment of Hanna Tetteh to be the new Special Representative of the Secretary-General.
Her previous UN experience in Sudan and South Sudan will no doubt help inform her approach to addressing Libya's most pressing challenges.
SRSG Tetteh is fortunate that she will step into her new role at the helm of UNSMIL with Stephanie Koury at her side, who has performed exceptionally in her role as UNSMIL's Officer-in-Charge since April of last year.
We appreciated Ms. Koury's efforts to work with Libyan stakeholders to resolve the Central Bank crisis. Her work demonstrated how a consensus-based approach could be used to relaunch a political process.
We welcome UNSMIL's ongoing efforts to end the political impasse in Libya, including the recent formation of UNSMIL's advisory committee, which offers an important opportunity for a broad range of Libyans to develop politically viable proposals. We will continue to monitor closely its progress.
A political solution is the path to long-term stability in Libya. Time is of the essence for UN-led efforts in the face of destabilizing activities from external actors.
Key to safeguarding Libya's sovereignty and territorial integrity is the broader re-unification of Libyan institutions via east-west security integration, which is now permissible following the Council's modification to the arms embargo last month.
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A high-level U.S. delegation visited Tripoli, Benghazi, and Sirte, February 4 to 6 to reaffirm the importance of maintaining the Libyan ceasefire agreement and achieving the reintegration goals enshrined in successive Council resolutions.
To build on this progress, we also urge Libyan parties to reach agreement on a unified budget to preserve Libya's economic stability, invest in development, and end persistent conflicts over revenue sharing that have led to shutdowns in the past.
Finally, Mr. President, we are pleased the Council has updated the designation criteria for individuals and entities destabilizing Libya through the illicit exploitation and export of petroleum. Fuel smuggling is leading to a massive transfer of wealth out of Libya. For the welfare of the Libyan people, this theft and corruption must be addressed.
I thank you.
