30 July 2020; MEMO: Libya’s delegate to the United Nations (UN) Taher Al-Sunni criticised the selectivity of the UN sanctions committees, stressing their ineffectiveness in stopping violations and agency to some countries that aim to achieve political goals in his country.
Al-Sunni complained about the interference of Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Libyan affairs, and their support for the aggression of Khalifa Haftar’s militia on the capital of Tripoli.
This came in a speech he delivered on Tuesday evening in front of the session of the UN Security Council sanctions committee in New York, which was held at the request of Libya, in the presence of the countries involved in supporting the aggression against Tripoli.
He expressed: “The sanctions committees’ work plan has become useless to stop violations, not only in Libya, but in most countries of the world. These bodies are employed to serve some countries’ political interests, by issuing sanction resolutions. It has become subsequently apparent that they seek to undermine successive governments.”
“How can we still hear statements that consider the legitimate Libyan government and the outlaws, who are responsible for the April 2019 aggression (reference to the aggression of Haftar’s militia against Tripoli), as equals?” asked Al-Sunni.
He continued: “How can a sovereign state be held accountable for the agreements it has signed with other parties to defend its people and its land against the aggressors and those who support them, which is its legitimate right, according to the Charter of the United Nations?”
Last November, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan signed two memoranda of understanding with Fayez Al-Sarraj, head of the internationally-recognised Libyan government, on security and military cooperation between Ankara and Tripoli.
Al-Sunni explained that the UN Security Council called on member states of the UN to assist the Libyan government in extending its sovereignty over the entire Libyan territory, and not to deal with any parallel bodies claiming legitimacy.
He posed the question: “But what happened after that? How many countries present with us today (referring to representatives of the countries involved in supporting the aggression against Tripoli) are dealing openly with parallel institutions and supporting the aggressors and mercenaries with arms and money to kill the Libyans?”
Al-Sunni complained of Cairo’s interference in the Libyan issue, stating: “The Egyptian government invited a group of Libyans and practiced public incitement with false mandates to interfere militarily in Libya, threatening to arm our tribes, recruit them, and contribute to killing the Libyans.”
“Is this not a declaration of war, a threat to international peace and security, and a direct violation of Security Council resolutions? Was it not better to call for dialogue, peace and reconciliation without excluding any Libyan party?” he questioned.
In mid-July, Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi during a meeting in Cairo with sheikhs and notables of Libyan tribes, called for Libyans to engage in what he described as a: “Unified national army and confine arms to the state of institutions and not others.”
Libyan parties criticised Sisi’s use of tribal sensitivities in the Libyan struggle to support Haftar’s coup against the internationally-recognised government.
Al-Sunni continued by criticising: “In addition to all the reports that prove the involvement of the Russian Wagner company and mercenaries of many nationalities in an unprecedented manner, the most recent of which has documented the presence of fighters, weapons and modern equipment in Sirte, Al-Jufra and several facilities and oil fields.”
He conveyed: “This is in addition to what was revealed in your reports about the continuous flow of arms from the Emirates, and unfortunately from Jordan, which declared earlier its neutral position on the Libyan crisis.”
The Libyan official concluded: “We invite all of you to respect the sovereignty and territorial integrity of Libya and respect the will of its people to determine their destiny with a free will.”
Haftar’s militia, supported by Arab and European countries, launched an aggression against Tripoli on 4 April, 2019, which resulted in the killing and injuring of civilians, along with extensive material damage, and incurring heavy losses, amid widespread calls for dialogue and a political solution to the worsening crisis.
