th th The Hague International Model ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Forum: Security Council (SC)

Issue: The situation in

Student Officer: Chris Moustakis

Position: Deputy President

Introduction

st The situation in Libya has been on the spotlight of the global scene ever since the 1 ​ Libyan civil ​ war, back in 2011. Although that conflict wasn’t as long and didn’t cause as much damage to the nation when compared to the situation today, it is noteworthy that this war, when it ended, was not complete

nd and didn’t leave all parties fully satisfied. 3 years later, in 2014, the 2 ​ Libyan civil war started and the ​ end has not yet been seen. The main issue is that the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has not yet been able to take significant action, due to the combination of controversy and the power of veto. With many member-states being involved in this matter, the deliberations in the UNSC often gets heated and leads to counter-productive debate.

A matter such as this, however, is not something that can be faced by the local authorities, by the government or by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). It is a matter that requires the authority of international cooperation; the unity of many powerful state actors whose combined power has taken down similar threats: civil wars, armed conflict and foreign political controversy, in the past. It is a matter that requires the United Nations, and that is exactly what the UNSC will be attempting during the conference.

Additionally, it is worth mentioning that when dealing with the situation in Libya, we aren’t dealing with a single government or a single, territorially united nation but with a country which is – literally and figuratively – broken to pieces. If one wishes to resolve the conflict, it isn’t enough to deliver humanitarian aid or assist the economic and social crisis. The most important crisis that must be resolved is definitely the political one, which should be the focus of this session of the Security Council. It is the one that caused the fragmentation of the nation into several pieces led by different groups (refer to Figure 1.0). It

th is the core of the issue and one of the most difficult and complicated situations of the 20 ​ century so far ​ (a century that makes the word “eventful” seem like an understatement). It is time for change that can be delivered by the UNSC.

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1

FIGURE 1: Military situation in Libya on 11 June 2020 ​ Under the control of the House of Representatives (HoR) and the Libyan National Accord (LNA) ​ Under the control of the Government of National Accord (GNA) and different forming the Libya Shield ​ Force (LSF) Controlled by local forces ​

Definition of Key Terms

Militia group

An army composed of ordinary citizens rather than professional soldiers. groups are found all across the country of Libya, as they use their topical and local forces to control small portions of territory.

Political party

A group of persons organized to acquire and exercise political power. Political parties originated in their modern form in Europe and the in the 19th century, along with the electoral and parliamentary systems, whose development reflects the evolution of parties. The term party has since come to be applied to all organized groups seeking political power, whether by democratic elections or by revolution. Certainly, in the matter at hand, there are quite a few political parties, each seeking to achieve different goals. (Adapted from Britannica)

War

1 Page 2 of 12 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ A state of usually open and declared armed hostile conflict between states or nations. A simple concept, yet one that is responsible for most the problems we face in the modern day and age. (Adapted from Merriam Webster)

Civil war

A war between people of the same origin/nationality. The war in Libya is classified as a civil war, which makes it all the more damaging towards the nation.

Sovereignty

A sovereign state is one that is autonomous. Libya’s sovereignty (or lack thereof) is quite noticeable in the events of the war, as foreign intervention is often and without any significant consequences. (Adapted from Merriam Webster)

Territory

A geographic area belonging to or under the jurisdiction of a governmental authority. Every opposing side of the war controls a certain part of the total Libyan territory, causing territorial disputes to form. (Adapted from Merriam Webster)

Conflict

Conflict: to come into collision or disagreement; be contradictory, at variance, or in opposition; clash. (Adapted from Merriam Webster)

Research Report | Page 3 of 12 ​ ​ th st The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ Background Information

Libya before the civil wars

Be the situation in Libya as it may, it is important to understand it before the occurrence of the two wars, purely for contextual reasons.

Libya is a country located in North in the Maghreb region and its current capital is . The main languages are and Berber and it currently has a population of almost seven million people. Until 2011 it was one of the African countries with the highest life expectancy and highest GDP on the entire African continent.

st 1 ​ Libyan civil war and Muammar Gadaffi (2011) ​

Arguably, the emergence of the political figure , who proved himself a defining factor in Libyan history has had a huge impact in the build-up to the 1st Libyan civil war.

He was more commonly referred to as Colonel Gadaffi and he was elected as President of the nation all the way back in 1969. He governed as Revolutionary Chairman of the Libyan Arab Republic up until 1977, after which he became the leader of the Great Socialist People's Libyan Arab Jamahiriya from 1977 to 2011. He was initially ideologically committed to Arab nationalism and Arab socialism but later ruled according to his own Third International Theory.Gaddafi abolished the post-1951 Libyan Constitution and introduced his own political philosophy, based on his Green Book published in the 1970s and that was what his party was fighting to maintain, while the overthrown government combined with various other groups was aiming to re-establish and potentially even make some minor alterations to the old constitution.

Protests against Gadaffi began in early January of 2011, starting from the town of . The protests would lead to an uprising and civil war, as part of the wider , which had already ​ ​ resulted in the ousting of long-term presidents of adjacent and .

The belligerents of this conflict were the National Liberation Army, affiliated with the National Transit Council (NTC) with the support of NATO versus the Libyan Jamahiriya (pro-Gaddafi tribes) with the support of . The rebel groups led by Gadaffi were met with opposition as the standing government announced that the rebels were allegedly linked to Al-Qaeda and major drug cartels, announcing a nation-wide search which led to many stand-offs involving open fire. Gadaffi’s reputation in the international community labelled him as a gruesome and violent dictator whose actions are in favour of serving his personal, and not the national interest.

On the 26th of February, the UNSC drafted and passed resolution 1970, suspending Libya from the Human Rights Council (HRC). In March, the UNSC declared a no-fly zone to protect the civilian Page 4 of 12 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ population from aerial bombardment, calling on foreign nations to enforce it; it also specifically prohibited foreign occupation. Despite this, sent hundreds of troops to support the dissidents and, along with and the , provided weaponry and military training to the NTC (a committee formed as the interim government). Later on, NATO agreed to enforce the UNSC’s established no-fly zone and with an they killed Gaddafi's family. This Western military intervention was criticized by various leftist governments, including those that had criticized Gaddafi's response to the protests, because they regarded it as an imperialist attempt to secure control of Libya's resources. Gadaffi was later captured by militia and assassinated. As a result, the rebellion disbanded and the 1st Libyan civil war ended.

nd The lead-up to the 2 ​ Libyan civil war ​ The ongoing conflict in Libya didn’t happen overnight and out of nowhere. Tension had been building up over a long time but there was a specific sequence of events that finally pushed the people of Libya off the edge. A year after the 1st civil war, democratic elections were held within Libya, in which, by winning the popular vote, the General National Congress (GNC) became the new government. The 2012 elections, overseen by the Libyan electoral commission with the support of the UN Special Mission In Libya (UNSMIL) and NGOs like the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), have been considered fair and free by most Libyans. The GNC was made of two major political groups, the National Forces Alliance (NFC) and the Justice and Construction Party (JCP). The two major groups in parliament had failed to reach political compromises on the larger more important issues that the GNC faced, which is why, ultimately, the GNC failed to effectively govern the nation of Libya. The party and its associates were taking up most of the seats in the house and they began voting to declare sharia law and established a special committee to "review all existing laws to guarantee they comply with Islamic law". This imposed gender segregation and compulsory hijab at Libyan universities. Additionally, the party refused to hold new elections when its electoral mandate expired in January 2014 until General launched a large-scale military offensive against the Islamists in May 2014, code-named Operation Dignity, which became much more important as a concept in later years. Until then however, the GNC had already made a bad image for itself by suppressing women's rights and extending its mandate without further elections.

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st FIGURE 3: People experiencing the consequences of the 1 ​ civil war, starving and with barely enough water to ​ ​ stay alive.

nd The 2 ​ Libyan civil war (2014-present) ​ After the aforementioned events, things began to spiral down once again for the Libyan nation. This time it was far worse than ever before. There are 3 opposing sides in this war: the GNA (officially recognized as the nation’s government by the UN) but is not capable of much when it comes to armed conflict against the other sides; the with the House of Representatives (HoR), which is an alliance to be reckoned with as it holds great military power on the ground and finally; a large portion of the country is controlled by local forces, including militia groups and terrorist groups that are capitalizing on the ongoing lawlessness. There is a massive amount of events and incidents that have happened so far, which will be listed on the timeline of events.

On a separate note, word has gone around the war may be a proxy war between the UAE and Egypt against Qatar and . Both forces seem to be aiding opposing sides, the GNC and the LNA, respectively. Interestingly, this matter has not yet been addressed in the UNSC or anywhere else really, as the proof of this is rather circumstantial and will not hold a solid case. Purely for contextual reasons, however, it is important to be aware of how the neighboring countries have aligned themselves.

This war has been going on for 6 years now and it is showing no sign of stopping. Truthfully, it seems the forces are just too held up in their personal interests that they fail to understand the damage they are inflicting on the present and the future of the country of Libya. As aforementioned, the UN has Page 6 of 12 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ made limited intervention and it is about time that it started addressing one of the most controversial and eventful situations in the world. Difficult as it may be, it is not the UN’s role to stand by and spectate as a nation collapses and crumbles.

Major Countries and Organizations Involved

United States of America (USA)

The USA has definitely played a role when it comes to the 2nd Libyan civil war. Its interaction is mainly focused on one of the three opposing sides: the Islamist militia groups. It is certain that there is no lack of military intervention by the US on Libyan soil. Their operations and missions happened and are still happening almost on a monthly basis. The Libyan people are absolutely not happy about the USA interfering but with the country as it is, it’s quite unlikely that they do something about it. Regardless, it is commonly believed that the US is simply trying to create a positive public image by fighting and it also rumored that the government occasionally uses the situation as an opportunity to test various weapons.

France

France is currently playing a major role in the situation in Libya. In a rather unlikely cooperation with the Russian Federation, they are delivering military support to Haftar’s forces, something that makes them both outside benefactors. France has always been involved in Libyan matters due to their close relationship. They maintain diplomatic relations despite some turbulence with the aftermath of UTA Flight 772. France remains a major arms dealer for the middle-east in general, but their support in this particular conflict seems to be rather exclusive to Haftar’s forces, as mentioned before.

Government of National Accord (GNA)

The Government of National Accord is an interim government for Libya that was formed under the terms of the Libyan Political Agreement, a UN-led initiative, signed on 17 December 2015. The agreement was unanimously endorsed by the United Nations Security Council, which welcomed the formation of a Presidency Council for Libya and recognized the Government of National Accord as the sole legitimate executive authority in Libya.

Libyan National Army (LNA)

The Libyan National Arab Army is a component of Libya's military forces which were nominally a unified national force under the command of Khalifa Haftar when he was nominated to the role on 2 March 2015 by the House of Representatives, consisting at the time of a ground force, an air force and a navy.

Research Report | Page 7 of 12 ​ ​ th st The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ General National Congress (GNC)

The General National Congress or General National Council was the legislative authority of Libya for two years following the end of the . It was elected by popular vote on 7 July 2012, and took power from the National Transitional Council on 8 August.

Timeline of Events

DATE DESCRIPTION

May 16-17, 2014 Operation Dignity offensive in Benghazi, after the command of Haftar, opens fire on certain militia groups based in the area, killing around 70 and injuring over 250. May 18, 2014 Operation Dignity offensive takes action in Tripoli, the current capital of the nation. They attack and take over the GNC building and claim that the GNC is now suspended. May 19-20, 2014 Various military figures begin to endorse the actions taken by the Operation Dignity offensive. June 2, 2014 Fighting re-erupts in Benghazi, as the attacked Islamist militias get violent revenge on Haftar’s forces June 3-9, 2014 Ahmed Mateeq is declared the new president of the nation, however his legitimacy is heavily contested and his election is finally ruled invalid and unconstitutional. June 15, 2014 A new attack by Haftar against Islamist groups and militias takes place in western Benghazi. June 22, 2014 Haftar poses an ultimatum to Turkish-Qatari forces to leave the nation.

July 2014 Benghazi falls to Haftar’s forces.

August 2014 The Libyan Health Ministry in cooperation with an independent NGO report over 500 deaths in combat during the months of June and July October 2014 The Derna campaign starts.

November-December Intense fighting continues, leaving thousands dead. 2014 February 9, 2015 ISIS creates mass armed conflict in a Libyan region and manages to completely take over the city of Novaliya. They leave hundreds dead and their convoy of 40 or more vehicles inflicts major structural damage to the city. March 14, 2015 Pro-Dawn forces associated with Misrata and Operation Sunrise clashed with ISIL militants in , which marked the start of . April 2015 Fighting intensifies in Tripoli, with an especial focus on foreign Embassies.

Page 8 of 12 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ May-September 2015 Fighting escalates and groups such as ISIS become even more involved.

October 8 2015 The UN attempts to get representatives from all sides around a negotiating table. December 17 2015 Members of the House of Representatives and the new General National Congress signed the revised political agreement, generally known as the "Libyan Political Agreement". Under the terms of the agreement, a nine-member Presidency Council and a seventeen-member interim Government of National Accord were formed, with a view to holding new elections within two years. Despite this, fighting continues. 2016 Fighting keeps escalating and more lives are lost. It is noteworthy that the civilian victims exceeded the thousands and that there was a failed coup d'état attempt. March 2017 Libyan representatives converse with Russian representatives regarding the Libyan crisis and how it can be resolved. This is the 1st time the GNC ​ doesn’t reject the option of dialogue with the HoR. July 2017 After 3 years, Benghzi is free of the Islamist forces and the LNA can finally retract its forces from the area. September 2017 The United States conduct 6 on several Islamist and militia groups February 2018 The UNSC imposes on Libya, one of its only actions on the matter. March-April 2018 Foreign intervention keeps increasing, putting the sovereignty of Libya (or lack thereof) in the spotlight May 2018 After built up military tension, the battle of Derna begins.

June 2018 The battle of Derna ends with the LNA and HoR as the victors.

July-December 2018 The conflict remains militarily active and there is a convention between important political figures in order to find a solution to the Libyan crisis. The Conference ends in failure. 2019 Extreme escalation of the military conflict, majorly concerning territorial disputes and intervention of foreign powers. The US continues its anti-terrorist action and the opposing sides find benefactors in neighboring nations to aid and abet them in their efforts to take over Libya and rule it once and for all. 2020 Due to the massive global pandemic, not much room has been left for conflict, and the main conflict is territorial. The only times where the opposing sides clash is when they are near a gray area or a border. Tensions seem to be cooling off, which creates the perfect window for a negotiation attempt.

Relevant UN Treaties and Events

st nd Although the UN took some noticeable action during the 1 ​ Libyan civil war, its activity on the 2 ​ one is ​ ​ far more limited, mainly due to the extreme controversy of the matter. Although there are a lot of resolutions, if looked at individually, they contain very few meaningful measures regarding the situation.

Research Report | Page 9 of 12 ​ ​ th st The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ● S/RES/2323 (2016), S/RES/2298 (2016), S/RES/2292 (2016), S/RES/2291 (2016), S/RES/2278 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ (2016) and S/RES/2273 (2016) ​ ​ ​ They are the UNSC’s first involvement with the new war and outline numerous containment precautions to save civilian lives. A lot more were drafted but unfortunately didn’t make the cut. ● S/RES/2376 (2017), S/RES/2362 (2017) and S/RES/2357 (2017) ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The UNSC takes a moderating role and attempts to limit the collateral damage through various measures. ● S/RES/2420 (2018), S/RES/2434 (2018) and S/RES/2441 (2018) ​ ​ ​ ​

Once again, the UNSC takes a passive approach on the matter, recalling past resolutions and enforcing them. ● S/RES/2486(2019)

It is definitely one of the more important ones, as it proposes a few new measures that are later enforced. ● S/RES/2526 (2020)

This resolution recalls a lot of the previous ones and comments on the current situation. It is the UNSC’s most recent involvement. The first few resolutions drafted are basically enforcing ​ UNSMIL and essentially trying to limit the effects of the public on the general population. After that, due to the members being unable to agree on solid measures, the resolutions mainly discuss previous measures taken, extend them and recall previous resolutions.

Previous Attempts to Solve the Issue

Unfortunately there haven’t been any at all outside attempts to resolve the issue. Other than the UN’s drafted resolutions and the United Nations Support Mission In Libya (UNSMIL), the only help that has been offered is by humanitarian NGOs helping the starved and homeless Libyan citizens, who are caught in the crossfire of a battle they have nothing to do with. It is believed that although a lot of foreign nations have intervened, it seems most wish to serve their interests instead of those of peace and prosperity and those of the UN.

Possible Solutions

Page 10 of 12 | Research Report ​ th th The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ This is definitely a very complicated topic. There’s a reason it has been going on for 6 years without showing any sign of stopping. First of all, let’s address the true meaning of the word “controversy” in this particular matter. Controversy has a dual definition. Firstly, the topic can be seen as a controversial one when it comes to the major disagreements on policy of the participating parties, such as the GNC and the LNA. Secondly, it also refers to the outside controversy, mainly regarding the neighboring nations, such as the UAE, Qatar, Turkey and many others involved, as they possess different opinions and views on the matter.

The first reflex may be to power up the nation by using the funds of the UN. That reflex, however, is entirely wrong. Pouring funds onto the nation is never the answer, as we are dealing with a corrupted government and multiple parties that would do anything in their power to gain access to those funds. In addition, the UNSC’s mandate calls for political action and not financial. In this case, any solution proposed should be extremely detailed so that there is no room for misunderstandings. The utopic nature of a feasible solution makes it so that anything proposed will immediately be taken as ineffective in some way. The only way to combat this, as aforementioned, is to be as specific as possible.

Humanitarian crisis

Arguably, the most important aspect of this issue is the rapidly increasing rate at which people are dying, not just due to armed conflict but also due to hunger, thirst and lack of humanitarian aid. This clearly needs to be resolved through the delivery of humanitarian aid to the people in need. Whether that is achieved by an NGO, another nation or the UN itself, is completely variable and can even be a combination. What matters is that the solution proposed offers a full-proof explanation of the humanitarian mission.

Mediation

Naturally, the UN has taken up the mantle of the mediator in many crises and situations similar to this one. It is definitely something that the UN excels at, due to its objectivity and neutrality. A diplomatic mission should be described with detail, planned on neutral ground and with the required amounts of security, if it is to be considered viable by the UNSC.

Territorial dispute resolution

Interestingly enough, the cause of most of the armed conflict lately are territorial disputes between the various opposing sides of the war. An effort should definitely be made to create a commonly accepted map of territory and minimize armed conflict due to the aforementioned reason. Of course, sometimes the involved parties seek such disputes in order to expand their reach in the nation. In these cases, not much can be done, however it is certain that the genuine misunderstandings will be avoided for the most part.

Research Report | Page 11 of 12 ​ ​ th st The Hague International Model United Nations ONLINE 2021| 25 ​ January 2021 – 29 ​ January 2021 ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ The above solutions are mere propositions for the matter at hand, and there is much more that can be done to improve the situation in Libya. These solutions are much harder to achieve, but with enough research can definitely be approached and debated by the UNSC.

Bibliography

“Libyan Civil War.” , Independent Digital News and Media, www.independent.co.uk/topic/libyan-civil-war?CMP=ILC-refresh. “War in Libya: How Did It Start, Who Is Involved and What Happens next?” , Guardian News and Media, 18 May 2020, www.theguardian.com/world/2020/may/18/war-in-libya-how-did-it-start-what-happens-next. “Civil War in Libya | Global Conflict Tracker.” Council on Foreign Relations, Council on Foreign Relations, www.cfr.org/global-conflict-tracker/conflict/civil-war-libya. www.globalsecurity.org/.../libya-civil-war-2020.htm

Bing, cc.bingj.com/cache.aspx?q=libyan+civil+war. Harchaoui, Jalel. “The Libyan Civil War Is About to Get Worse.” Foreign Policy, 18 Mar. 2020, foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/18/libyan-civil-war-about-get-worse/. “Libya 'One Hell of a Mess' as Civil War Spirals into International Free-for-All | CBC News.” CBCnews, CBC/Radio , 16 July 2020, www.cbc.ca/news/world/libya-civil-war-1.5650741. Alexander, Lynsey. “4 Humanitarian Costs of the Libyan Civil War.” The Borgen Project, Lynsey Alexander Https://Borgenproject.org/Wp-Content/Uploads/The_Borgen_Project_Logo_small.Jpg, 5 Mar. 2020, borgenproject.org/libyan-civil-war. “Libya Profile - Timeline.” BBC News, BBC, 9 Apr. 2019, www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13755445. “Libyan Civil War.” The Independent, Independent Digital News and Media, www.independent.co.uk/topic/libyan-civil-war. The Libyan War of 2011, www.historyguy.com/libyan_war_2011.htm.

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