The renewal, which should have been a formality, followed a deadlock between Russia and the US with Moscow demanding that a special envoy to Libya be appointed by the secretary-general to replace current special adviser US Stephanie Williams. It contains one new provision recalling that UNSMIL should be led by a special envoy and “recognizing the Secretary-General’s responsibility to appoint a Special Envoy as set out in resolution 2542 (of 2020. )”The security council recently split over whether to reconfigure UNSMIL’s leadership, with several member states demanding the special envoy’s post be transferred from Geneva to Tripoli. Since the sudden resignation of former envoy Jan Kubis in November, American Stephanie Williams has served as UN special adviser on Libya. Instead, Guterres named her as his special adviser for Libya, a position that does not require council approval.

Source: Libya Today February 01, 2022 03:53 UTC