I thank the Special Envoy Ján Kubiš for his briefing. I would like to express Estonia’s full support to his work and to UNSMIL.
The continuation of Libya’s political process is encouraging and gives hope that a lasting peace in unified Libya can be achieved. It is now crucial to keep up this pace for the elections to take place on 24 December. The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum roadmap and the Security Council’s recently adopted resolution 2570 (2021) provide the necessary framework for this.
Genuine and constructive engagement of all Libyan parties is of key importance in ensuring that a credible and transparent election process takes place in the planned timeframe. It is extremely important to involve the voices of women and youth at all stages and all levels of the process. Moreover, creating safe space for women and youth to express their views without the fear of retaliation is the only viable way to a lasting peace.
Regarding the military track, the 5+5 Joint Military Commission’s commitment to the 23 October ceasefire agreement is encouraging. It is of utmost importance to fully implement the ceasefire agreement. We commend the recent prisoner exchanges, as they are important confidence-building measures. The opening of the coastal road – a major element of the ceasefire agreement – would further build trust between the parties and serve the purpose of unifying Libya.
Another essential element of the Libyan ceasefire agreement is the removal of all foreign fighters and mercenaries. Libyans have expressed their wishes very clearly and it is the duty of the international community to show respect by ending all foreign interference. We reiterate our call on all those involved to put an immediate end to the blatant violations of the Libyan sanctions regime and to withdraw all foreign fighters and mercenaries from Libya. All actions that violate the Libyan arms embargo must stop immediately.
Estonia welcomes the efforts of the EU operation IRINI in supporting the implementation of the Security Council arms embargo. Operation IRINI acts strictly under Security Council authorisations, is impartial in its activities, and offers an important contribution to the implementation of the sanctions regime. It is therefore important to renew the Security Council authorisations as set out in resolution 2526 (2020) and we count on Council’s continued support in doing so.
In its resolution 2570 (2021), the Security Council gave a clear and flexible mandate for the establishment of a credible, realistic and effective ceasefire monitoring mechanism that acts under the UN auspices. We now call for the implementation of all necessary measures to allow for the Libyan-led and Libyan-owned ceasefire monitoring mechanism and its international support component to be deployed as soon as possible.
Concrete steps need to be taken to further build trust between the Libyan parties and in the Libyan society. That includes thoroughly investigating all alleged human rights violations, mass killings, torture, enforced disappearances and ensuring justice for the victims. Taking concrete measures to fight against impunity, ensuring accountability and focusing on reconciliation are essential in healing the society.
Estonia remains concerned about the humanitarian situation on the ground. The extremely dire situation and the constant exposure to violence, including sexual and gender based violence that migrants and asylum seekers fall victim to, are of great concern. We call on the authorities to take clear steps to alleviate the suffering of the civilians.
Finally, I would like to stress that the political process under the auspices of the UN and the Berlin process remains the only acceptable international framework to support Libyans in their efforts to achieve a lasting peace.