Libya’s ambassador to the United Nations, Taher El-Sonni, warned the Security Council on Tuesday in New York that his country “cannot tolerate” any further delays in the UN-led political track. He spoke moments after Hanna Tetteh, the secretary-general’s special representative for Libya, delivered a lengthy briefing but stopped short of unveiling the long-promised roadmap that would set elections and reunify the fractured state.
“While we welcome Madamme Tetteh’s efforts … we cannot disguise the truth that until now there is no political plan and there is no clear roadmap that was offered to the Libyans,” El-Sonni told the chamber. “The Libyans are still waiting for this from you at a faster pace.”
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Tetteh replied that she will bring a full plan to her next briefing, likely in August, after completing another round of consultations with Libyan factions. Her pledge did little to soothe the envoy, who ticked off the calendar: former envoy Abdoulaye Bathily resigned in April 2024, Tetteh took over in February 2025, and August would mark 18 months without a formal process. “And if we were to count the months, we are talking about almost a year and a half with the absence of a real political process in Libya,” he said.
Libya has been split between rival administrations since the abortive national elections of December 2021. Successive UN envoys have struggled to bridge the divide, and the UN Support Mission in Libya has faced repeated leadership gaps and short-term mandate renewals. El-Sonni reminded council members that the void has real-world consequences: insecurity, frozen oil revenues, and stalled reconstruction. “This is the collective responsibility upon everyone, including this council,” he said.