Tunisia pushes for protection of Libya’s fragile truce

Assuming the presidency of the 68th session of the UN Security Council yesterday, Tunisia called for a UN peacekeeping force to maintain the fragile ceasefire in Libya.

Tunisian Ambassador to the UN, Tarek Ladeb told the Security Council that a peacekeeping force was necessary because negotiations between warring Libyan parties and the UN mission had “momentum, yet it’s a little bit fragile”.

He also added that he hopes the work of the first Libyan Political Dialogue Forum that took place in Tunis continues by establishing a peacekeeping force to maintain the ceasefire signed by the 5+5 Military Commission in October.

“Nominating a new [UN] special envoy for Libya is crucial now to sustain the political momentum and give a push to the political process and the settlement of the crisis,” Ladeb said, adding, “Libya is [Tunisia’s] neighbour. We have a steadfast and principled position toward this crisis.”

A statement from Tunisia said that in January the country would “work to defend the unified positions taken on various issues related to the Arab and African spaces, foremost of which is the Palestinian issue and the situation in Libya,”

Tunisia’s proposal echoes that of Secretary-General of the United Nations Antonio Guterres, who towards the end of 2020 proposed that international monitors from regional areas be dispatched to ensure that both parties respect the ceasefire agreement and the deport foreign and mercenaries forces in Libya.

Guterres’s proposal indicated that monitors chosen for the mission are civilians and retired soldiers from the European Union (EU), Arab League, and African Union (AU) to observe the departure of the estimated 20 thousand foreign troops still in Libya despite stipulations in the ceasefire agreement stating they depart the country’s in three months.