The United Nations Security Council on Friday adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) for three months, with Russia vetoing a longer prolongation until a new envoy is appointed.
The text extends until July 31, 2022 the mandate of UNSMIL and “calls upon the Secretary-General to appoint a Special Representative promptly” to be based in the capital Tripoli.
The resolution requires the UN chief report monthly on its implementation until the end of July.
Since the resignation in November of Slovak envoy Jan Kubis, the Security Council has been marked by growing Russian opposition to any common agreement on Libya.
UNSMIL’s annual mandate was renewed in September for only four months, before being extended in January for another three months.
According to diplomats, at the start of negotiations, Britain presented its 14 partners in the Security Council with a draft text renewing UNSMIL’s mandate for one year.
But faced with Russian resistance, the text was transformed into a technical renewal of the current mandate for only three months.
Resolution 2629 is the fourth issued by the Council since mid-September 2021, due to the division among its members on the appointment of a new special envoy to the UN mission to succeed Kubis.
On December 6, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres appointed American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a fluent Arabic speaker who served as deputy UN special representative in Libya from 2018-2020 as his special adviser and sent her to Tripoli.
