International law expert Mohammed Al-Zubaidi stated that the UN mission has consistently bypassed legitimate Libyan institutions since 2011, citing the UN-sponsored Skhirat conference in 2015, which he described as being held in an impromptu manner and producing an agreement that deepened the country’s division.
Criticism of UN Mechanisms in Libya
In a statement to the Asharq Al-Awsat newspaper, Al-Zubaidi said that the Geneva conference, in turn, was marred by many suspicions of vote-buying, citing the admission of one of its participants. He stressed that the selection of participants for such conferences was based on international agendas that do not reflect the Libyan national will.
Warning Against Repeating Past Mistakes in the New Dialogue
Al-Zubaidi warned against repeating the same mistakes in the structured dialogue the UN mission plans to launch, questioning whether UN envoy Hanna Tetteh’s roadmap includes a clear timeline for the departure of the Dbeibeh government, the unification of authority, and respect for election results.
Call for Clear Guarantees for the Path to a Solution
Al-Zubaidi stressed that in the absence of these guarantees, Libya will witness a new round of prolonging the crisis rather than resolving it, pointing out that the mission is repeating the same approach without fundamentally addressing the real causes of the political and institutional division.