By Salah Suhbi.
Tobruk, 6 August 2017:
Mr Ghassan Salame the United Nations Secretary General Special Representative (SRSG) to Libya and UNSMIL head has started his mission work in Libya with his arrival in the country this weekend and hopefully there is a great opportunity for the success of his mission.
However, he is, unfortunately, going to fail in his new mission if the UN does not review the makeup of the UNSMIL delegation itself and the way that it operates. With the arrival of a new SRSG, its time for fresh faces, a fresh approach and fresh start.
Continuing to work as the UNSMIL mission has done previously under his predecessor, Mr Martin Kobler, would be unacceptable to us, members of the House of Representatives (HoR) – the elected representatives of the Libyan people. It is time to rethink and review the old approach which clearly did not succeed.
For one thing, longtime UNSMIL delegation member Mr Muain Shraim is, in our view, clearly working against the stability of Libya by constantly giving access to certain groups and individuals – every time. In our view, it is the UN that has destroyed the LPA (Libyan Political Agreement signed in the Moroccan city of Skhirat in December 2015).
Despite the UN changing the SRSG twice, the delivery and work culture of UNSMIL remained the same, which indicates to us that Mr Shraim is controlling UNSMIL. There were over the last few years too many actions giving certain groups power – all outside the political agreement. This was clearly his work.
He has been in the Libya office for 7 years now without rotation. I have never in my life seen such a long posting! With all due respect to him personally, I join my House of Representatives colleagues in voicing this – its time he leaves Libya – for the sake of the UN, the LPA and Libya!
Salah Suhbi Member of the Libyan House of Representatives
