Source · Select Committees · Foreign Affairs Committee
Recommendation 27
27
Accepted
UK has not sufficiently raised Libya's profile at the United Nations Security Council.
Conclusion
Libya is a neglected item at the United Nations Security Council and the UK has not taken sufficient action to raise it. Despite controversy relating to the UN Security Council-backed intervention which the UK participated in, our evidence suggested the UK was the only candidate of the UN Security Council Permanent Members likely to have the appetite to hold the pen for the Libya file. (Conclusion, Paragraph 95)
Government Response Summary
The government agrees with the importance of Libya but outlines numerous past and ongoing actions at the UN Security Council, including leading sanctions renewal, calling for elections, and renewing the UNSMIL mandate, to demonstrate its continuous engagement and challenge the premise of neglect.
Government Response
Accepted
HM Government
Accepted
Agree. 39. The UK has consistently used the UN platform to press for progress on Libya, even if Council action on the file has received less media attention than other issues. In the last twelve months, eight UN Security Council meetings have been held on Libya’s political situation. HMG led the renewal of the Libya sanctions regime in January, delivering the most significant changes since 2014, including an arms embargo exemption to support military reunification, new sanctions targeting illicit oil exploitation, and controlled exemptions to allow reinvestment of frozen assets for the benefit of the Libyan people. The UK has used meetings in the UN Security Council to call for free, fair, transparent and inclusive national elections, sustainable political progress, and to welcome commitments including those made at the International Follow-Up Committee on Libya in Berlin in June. We are pleased to have led the most recent renewal of the mandate of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), adopted on 31 October 2025. This will allow for the Mission to continue to facilitate the Libyan-led and Libyan-owned political process, including through the SRSG’s new political roadmap announced in August 2025. HMG also continues to explore opportunities to co-pen press statements with the A3+ to amplify regional voices and maintain Council unity in support of peace and security in Libya.