Amid a political impasse that threatens to see Libya fractured again by two parallel governments, the priority must be maintaining hard-won gains and fulfilling the electoral aspirations of nearly three million registered voters, the UN political affairs chief told the Security Council on Wednesday. While the situation on the ground remains relatively calm, reports are emerging of threatening rhetoric, rising political tensions and divided loyalties among the armed groups in western Libya. “Our priority is to focus on fulfilling the aspirations of the more than 2.8 million Libyans who have registered to vote,” Ms. DiCarlo told the Security Council. Economic, human rights challengesMs. DiCarlo also briefed the Council on Libya’s ongoing security, economic and human rights challenges, warning that the latter have seen a spike as tensions rise across the country. Both State and non-State actors arbitrarily arrest and detain human rights activists, and migrants and refugees at sea continue to be intercepted by Libya’s authorities and transferred to detention centres where they reportedly suffer serious human rights violations.

Source: Libya Today March 17, 2022 06:59 UTC