NEW YORK: The United Nations Security Council urged all Libyan stakeholders to engage “fully, seriously and without delay” with the political road map presented by the UN Special Representative for Libya, Hanna Tetteh, in a press statement issued March 3. Council members reiterated full support for Tetteh’s mediation and good offices and for the United Nations Support Mission in Libya as it works to facilitate an inclusive, Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process.
The Council said Libya’s political actors should demonstrate the political will and compromise needed to move the process forward and warned against unilateral steps that could deepen institutional divisions or undermine reconciliation. It underscored the importance of safeguarding the unity and independence of Libya’s judicial system and reaffirmed the central role of the United Nations in supporting an inclusive political track under the mission’s mandate.
Council members also highlighted the need for progress toward unifying state institutions, including military and security institutions, as part of efforts to stabilize governance. The statement called for the implementation of a Unified Development Programme and the establishment of a unified budget, describing those steps as important to preventing further deterioration in Libya’s economic and financial situation and to improving oversight and coherence in public spending.
Road map framework
Tetteh announced the political road map on Aug. 21, 2025, setting out a sequenced approach built around three core pillars. The framework focuses on developing an electoral basis for presidential and legislative elections, advancing institutional unification through a new unified government, and holding a structured dialogue to broaden participation and address governance, economic, security and reconciliation issues. The road map also sets out early milestones tied to election administration and the legal framework needed for nationwide polls.
The Security Council has previously welcomed the road map as a basis to end Libya’s transitional arrangements and encourage agreement on an electoral framework, while maintaining that the process should remain Libyan-led. Tetteh has continued to brief the Council on developments, including the pace of engagement on initial steps and the mission’s work to convene structured dialogue tracks intended to incorporate a wider range of Libyan voices into discussions on national priorities.
Libya’s divided governance
Libya remains politically fragmented more than a decade after the 2011 uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi, with rival institutions and competing claims to legitimacy in the west and east. The Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, led by Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, and an eastern-based administration backed by the House of Representatives have operated in parallel, while disputes over election laws and authority have repeatedly stalled efforts to hold nationwide presidential and parliamentary elections.
In its March 3 statement, the Security Council reaffirmed respect for Libya’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity, and called on the international community to support Tetteh and UNSMIL in carrying out their mandate. The Council said sustained engagement by Libyan stakeholders with the UN road map remains essential to advancing the political process and addressing institutional and economic fragmentation – By Content Syndication Services.