As part of its series of dedicated youth consultations, Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General – Political, Stephanie Koury, held an online consultation on Sunday with fifty-seven young men and women from across the country to discuss their ideas on the next steps in the political process.
All participants were encouraged to complete the online poll [link] and share it with their friends and families to ensure all community voices are heard by the Mission while designing the roadmap.
A primary concern highlighted by participants was the volatile security situation and the need to prioritize stability to create an environment conducive to political progress. They further stressed the need for a clear and realistic roadmap with a mechanism for including those who are marginalized or have previously been excluded from the political process, and decision-making.
“Inclusion should not be symbolic, it should be built into every part of government,” said one participant, adding, “we cannot build a lasting peace while regions, tribes and communities are under-represented or excluded.”
Participants also flagged the importance of tackling the worsening economic situation, noting a degradation of services and the lack of transparency in managing public resources. They further stressed the need to integrate a security dimension in the economic approach to provide youth with viable alternatives.
“We must integrate young people who have joined armed groups back into society and state institutions,” said one participant. “We have to provide them with better economic opportunities.”
In May, UNSMIL published the Executive Summary of the Advisory Committee’s Report which outlines four proposed options to move the political process forward:
Conducting presidential and legislative elections simultaneously;
Conducting parliamentary elections first, followed by the adoption of a permanent constitution;
Adopting a permanent constitution before elections; or
Establishing a political dialogue committee, based on the Libyan Political Agreement to finalize electoral laws, executive authority and permanent constitution.
The different options presented by the Advisory Committee were broadly appreciated by the participants, with participants conveying different preferences. Participants also highlighted that working on the constitution was crucial to the process – some said that should come first, others after a parliamentary election. While several expressed support for option 4, some also raised concerns that any dialogue forum created through option 4 would become permanent. In this regard, they emphasized the need for guarantees to prevent repeating past mistakes and put the country on a path of real change.
Participants also criticized UNSMIL for not putting forward a roadmap at the UN Security Council briefing on 24 June, saying that they did not want to wait any longer.
DSRSG Koury explained that the SRSG will be presenting the roadmap to the Security Council in her briefing in August, stating that we are moving forward as soon as possible but that the Mission also wanted all Libyans to participate in developing the upcoming roadmap.
“It is important that sufficient consensus is built on a way forward and this includes through consultations like this, which we will be holding more of over the next month, to ensure that we reach as many people as possible. This process is about the Libyan people and for the Libyan people,” Koury said.
DSRSG Koury further explained that Libya is not under chapter 7 in relation to the political process, but only for arms embargo and assets freeze, and thus, our role is to support and facilitate a Libyan led political process that addresses the Libyan people’s needs and aspirations.
Further youth consultations will be taking place throughout July with more information available here.
Distributed by APO Group on behalf of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).
