Situation context
Libya is a North African country bordered by the Mediterranean Sea, Egypt, Sudan, Chad, Niger, Algeria, and Tunisia. It is one of the largest countries in Africa by land area and contains vast sections of the Sahara Desert. Libya possesses some of the largest proven oil reserves in Africa and has historically linked North Africa with the Sahel region.
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What is Libya situation about?
Libya - Overview
What this is about In Security Council debates, the Libya situation is essentially about a country still stuck in a long political and institutional crisis after years of conflict. The main problem, as UN briefers and many Council members describe it, is that Libya remains divided between rival institutions and power centres, with fragmented security forces, armed groups, and unresolved disputes over elections, legitimacy, control of state institutions, and national resources. The recurring goal in Council discussions is to help Libya restore unified institutions and move towards credible national elections through a Libyan-led process under UN mediation. --- Why the Security Council is involved Libya stays on the Council’s agenda not only because of its internal crisis, but because its instability is seen as affecting wider international peace and security. Council discussions link...
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How did the Libya situation evolve over time?
Libya - Timeline
Libya’s trajectory over time The Security Council record shows Libya moving through four broad phases: a war around Tripoli, a ceasefire and brief opening, a renewed political deadlock after failed elections, and then a longer UN-led attempt to rebuild a path to elections and unified institutions. --- 1) From state collapse to the Tripoli war In Security Council debates, several speakers described the modern crisis as rooted in the 2011 intervention and the breakdown of Libyan State institutions that followed. By January 2020, Libya was described as having endured nine years of conflict, with effects spilling into the Sahel and North Africa through arms proliferation, refugee flows and terrorism. The immediate crisis on the Council’s agenda in early 2020 was the April 2019 offensive on Tripoli. By the time of Council meeting 8710 on 30 January 2020, the war had produced a major...
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