UNITED NATIONS — A
day after the UN said its
Libya envoy was quitting, the official himself told
the
Security Council Wednesday he would remain in the job until after the
war-torn country's crucial presidential elections next month.
اضافة اعلان
During a monthly meeting of the Security
Council on Libya, Jan Kubis said he had tendered his resignation on November 17
to Secretary-General Antonio Guterres.
The UN chief waited until Tuesday to accept
his resignation, telling him, according to Kubis, that it would be
"effective on 10th of December," and informing the 15 members of the
Security Council, some of whom told media on Wednesday they still did not know
the reason behind the envoy's decision.
"In the resignation letter to the
Secretary-General I confirmed my readiness to continue as the Special Envoy to
a transitional period and that in my opinion should cover the electoral period
to ensure business continuity provided it is a feasible option," Kubis
said.
"I hope an appropriate solution will be
found," the 69-year-old Slovak diplomat added.
The presidential election in Libya, which is
aimed at turning the page on a decade of civil war, is scheduled for December
24.
Legislative elections initially due to take
place the same day were postponed for a month, until the end of January.
In September, the Security Council renewed
the mandate of its political mission in Libya, extending Kubis' posting through
January 31.
The Council had been split over whether to
reconfigure the mission's leadership, with several members calling for the
envoy's post to be transferred from Geneva to Tripoli.
Before confirming his resignation at
Wednesday's meeting, Jan Kubis said he supported the transfer, which appeared
to confirm speculation that he was quitting because he did not want to move to
Libya.
Diplomats have said that when moving the
envoy's mission from Switzerland to Libya was proposed over the summer, the
former Slovak foreign minister had said he did not intend to move to Tripoli.
In a statement approved by all Security
Council members Wednesday, the body reaffirmed its support for the elections,
urging "all Libyan stakeholders to commit to accept the elections results
and to respect the rights of their political opponents before, during and after
the elections."
It warned that anyone who threatens Libya's
stability or obstructs the elections "may be designated for its sanctions.”
Also on Wednesday, Libya's electoral
commission announced its rejection of the candidacy of Seif al-Islam, a son of
slain dictator Moammar Al-Gaddaf, to run in next month's presidential election.
Wanted by the
International Criminal Court for alleged war crimes, Seif al-Islam, who registered to run on November 14,
was among 25 candidates whose bids have been rejected, the HNEC commission said
in a statement.
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