Diplomatic sources at the United Nations confirmed to Anadolu News Agency that there are no objections from the 15 member states of the UN Security Council to the appointment of former Senegalese minister, Abdoulaye Bathily, as a new head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
The Agency said that the sources, who asked to remain anonymous, confirmed that there was a clear approval from all members of the Council to appoint “Abdoulaye Bathily”, and that now the whole situation is awaiting an official announcement by the office of United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
Anadolu News Agency also said that Guterres did not receive any objection from the presiding President of the Security Council, Chinese ambassador: Zhang Jun, to the nomination of the Senegalese diplomat for the position; however, the Libyan ambassador to the UN, Taher El Sonni, objected to the appointment and said the Libyan government wanted a person of more capacity for the job.
Libya's ambassador to the United Nations (UN), Taher El Sonni, said that there is a difficulty in appointing a special envoy to Libya due to the lack of consensus within the Security Council, adding in his media stakeout following a Security Council session that the Government of National Unity objected to the nomination of the Senegalese diplomat, Abdoulaye Bathily, for the position of the UN envoy, not because of his person, but because Libya, after 9 UN envoys, deserves a person with more capacity.
El Sonni said on Twitter on Tuesday that the Libyan crisis cannot be reduced to the appointment of an envoy, expressing his surprise at those who defend a particular envoy, given that all previous envoys were criticized.
He added that the UN mission is a fait accompli and an international consensus may help Libya more than a local one in the quest to resolve the crisis. He also stressed that the actual solution must be from Libyans, reiterating that the success of any envoy is linked to international influence and the agenda of the Security Council.
