Tripoli, 7 . . .[restrict]August:
Ian Martin, the United Nations secretary general’s out-going special representative in Libya, has warned that a stable, democratic Libya will not appear overnight.
“Both Libyans and the international community are going to have to realise that building a state out of a legacy of 42 years of a regime, that deliberately didn’t develop the institutions of a modern democracy, is not a quick task” said Martin in an interview with the United Nations News Centre.
Martin also expressed concern that the Libyan economy is over-reliant on oil and the public sector, saying that, if the country is to enjoy high levels of employment, there must be a degree of diversification. He said that the other major challenge facing Libya was security, most crucially: “The transition from the revolutionary brigades that were there at the end of the conflict, to state security forces having a monopoly on force, a national army and a proper police force”. Martin stressed that this is a process that will take time.
In the interview Martin said he saw no reason why the role of the United Nations’ Support Mission in Libya, (UNSMIL) would change after the National Congress takes over from the NTC tomorrow. The special representative described UNSMIL’s three priorities as support for democracy; human rights and security.
He added: “Once there’s a new government, the UN will discuss with that government its wishes for the UN role, but it doesn’t appear that there’s any reason why those three areas would not continue to be the main focus for the work of UNSMIL”.
Ian Martin, a former secretary-general of Amnesty International, has been heading up the UN in Libya since September 2011, having previously served as the UN Special Envoy on post-conflict planning for Libya. He is set to leave his current role at the end of this month. [/restrict]
