By : News Editor
Jordan Daily – The UN secretary-general’s special representative for Libya and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, has resigned.
Bathily told reporters after briefing the Security Council on Tuesday that he had tendered his resignation to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Guterres’ press office later confirmed that the UN chief had received the resignation letter and had accepted Bathily’s resignation.
“The secretary-general is grateful to Bathily for his leadership of UNSMIL and for his tireless efforts to restore peace and stability to Libya,” said the press office. “The secretary-general reiterates the United Nations’ commitment to continue to support the Libyan-led and owned political process.”
It was not immediately clear when Bathily would leave the job.
The former Senegalese minister and UN diplomat, who has held the job for 18 months, said he had done his best to get the five key political actors in Libya to resolve contested issues over electoral laws and form a unified government to lead the country to long-delayed elections.
But Bathily said his attempts “were met with stubborn resistance, unreasonable expectations and indifference to the interests of the Libyan people.” And he warned that these entrenched positions, reinforced by “a divided regional and global landscape,” may push Libya and the region to further instability and insecurity.
Bathily blamed the lack of political will and good faith by the major Libyan actors, who are comfortable with the current stalemate since 2011, as well as emerging international and regional dynamics where Libya’s territory is being used as a site for military confrontation by different nations.
In the current situation, there is no way that the United Nations can operate successfully, he said. “As far as I am concerned I have done my best.”