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The pressure exerted by Russia to appoint a new UN envoy to Libya to succeed Jan Kubis could signal the start of the countdown for the end of mission of the UN Secretary-General special advisor, Stephanie Williams, in Libya.

Williams, who has been acting since last November as the de facto UN envoy to Libya, has not pulled off any notable achievements since her return to the Libyan scene in her new capacity, last November.

In particular, she was unable to ensure the holding of elections on their scheduled date of December 24, hence disappointing most Libya stakeholders who had counted on her ability to pressure the various protagonists into making needed compromises, using her knowledge of the Libyan scene to deliver effective results on the ground.

Despite her insistence on the importance of the elections for ending Libyas continued crisis, the December vote was eventually cancelled, which punctured the halo around the Iron Lady, as Williams was at times called in diplomatic circles.

The high expectations stemmed from her long experience as US charg d'affaires in Tripoli and later as the deputy of former UN envoy Ghassan Salame.

Some Libyans have even blamed her for the electoral fiasco, although the reasons for that impasse are much more complex.

After the aborted vote, Williams was unable to prevent the emergence of a new political divide in the country. The recent elections and constitutional initiatives, which she launched after parliament gave a vote of confidence to the new Fathi Bashagha government, have added to the confusion, as her proposals did not elicit enough interest among political players, especially in the eastern region.

The Security Council is supposed to extend the United Nations political mission in Libya by the end of April, a deadline that coincides with the expiry of Stephanie Williams mandate, which could theoretically be extended. However, Russia's deputy ambassador to the United Nations, Dmitry Polyansky, has stressed the need to appoint a new UN envoy "as soon as possible."

Since the resignation of Slovak diplomat Jan Kubis in November, no UN envoy to Libya has been appointed. A diplomatic source told AFP, on condition of anonymity, that the African Union will propose to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres the appointment of an African envoy.

The same source added that this proposal has the support of Russia and China in the UN Security Council. It is assumed that Guterres will receive the names of a number of personalities from which he will pick a nominee whom he will submit to the Security Council.

The demand for an African envoy representing the UN in Libya is not new. In 2020, Africa nominated Algerian and Ghanaian candidates, one after another, but the two proposals were rejected by the United States.

A government formed by former Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha and supported by the House of Representatives in the east is competing with the outgoing government headed by Abdulhamid Dbeibah, who refuses to step down, although the political agreement which had brought his government to power, stipulates that his term expired on December 24.

On Wednesday, Williams called on the Libyan House of Representatives to "respond quickly and positively" to her proposal to form a joint committee with the State Council (an advisory body) in order to set a constitutional basis that would lead to elections as soon as possible.

Last Friday, Williams had announced, in a series of tweets, an initiative that provides for the formation of a joint committee consisting of six representatives from both the House of Representatives and the State Council, which would have met on March 15 for a period of two weeks, under the auspices of the United Nations, to set a constitutional basis that leads the country to elections.

The joint committee was scheduled to meet on Tuesday to start its work but the House of Representatives has not yet named its representatives, nor has it officially announced its position on the initiative itself, except for a statement put out a week ago by 93 members who rejected the Williams plan.

Analysts says the timeframe attached to the initiative was not realistic given the deep differences still separating the House of Representatives and the State Council.

Both the United States and the UN special envoy to Libya seem to fear that in the near future Libyas eastern region tribes could carry on their threats to shut down the oil fields again, in support of the Bashagha government .

US Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, proposed Thursday a new mechanism to manage oil revenues in order to help the country avoid economic fallouts from the political crisis.

The rival factions have feuded for years over control of oil production, sales and revenue, fuelling the political chaos and violence that has gripped Libya since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising.

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Russian pressure on UN to appoint new envoy in Libya could signal end of Williams' mandate | | AW - The Arab Weekly