NATIONAL SECURITY ISSUES
- The death of 61 people, who drowned in a shipwreck off the coast of Libyan shores during the night between 14 and 15 December, is “the direct result of Europe’s migration policies”, said Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). The NGO, also known as Doctors Without Borders, said in a statement that the incident was a “completely preventable tragedy and once again shows the consequences of Europe’s murderous policies of non-assistance and disgraceful outsourcing of border management”.
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The Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency of Tobruk Branch announced, the deportation of seven Egyptian immigrants to their country through the Amsaad-Al-Salloum crossing border. The agency indicated that the deported immigrants were detained in the Bab Al-Zaytoun shelter center, and that six of them were infected with the hepatitis C virus.
NATIONAL POLITICS AND SOCIAL ISSUES
- “One group of unwilling officials clinging to their seats must not be allowed to fail the people of Libya and put the region at the risk of further chaos,” Abdoulaye Bathily, UN Special Representative for Libya, told ambassadors on the Security Council on Monday. Nevertheless, Bathily, who also heads the UN Support Mission in the country (UNSMIL), told Council members that for the first time since elections were aborted in December 2021, Libya has a constitutional and legal framework for elections in place.
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UN Special Envoy to Libya, Abdoulaye Bathily, will brief the Security Council about the situation the country. According to the council’s agenda, Bathily and member states will also discuss report of the Secretary-General, António Guterres, on the UN Support Mission in Libya. The briefing will be followed by closed-door consultations.
- Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibeh discussed with the mayor of the Municipality of Sebha, Belhaj Ali, the ways to launch development projects in the Fezzan region (of which Sebha is the capital) and satisfy the basic needs of the University and the city’s medical center. According to a statement by Dbeibeh’s media office, the two discussed “the need to pay attention to the municipalities of the south and give them priority, especially in projects related to hygiene and educational and healthcare facilities”.
INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS
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The U.S. Special Envoy and Ambassador to Libya, Richard Norland, and Chargé d’Affaires, Jeremy Berndt, held talks on Monday with UAE Ambassador Mohammed Al-Shamsi, said the U.S. Embassy in Libya. The diplomats discussed outcomes of COP-28 in Dubai with UAE and also agreed on support for UN Envoy Abdoulaye Bathily’s efforts to “convene the key Libyan parties in serious negotiations aimed at a credible roadmap for elections as soon as possible,” according to the American embassy.