Libya: UN Advisor Stephanie Williams to remain in office at least for one more month; delay in appointment of new envoy

The UN Secretary General’s Special Adviser for Libya, Stephanie Williams, is set to remain in office for at least one more month in office, Italian news agency Nova has learned.

Unnamed Libyan sources reportedly told the agency the US diplomat will remain in the post, because of the vacancy for a chief of the U.N. Mission in Libya.

Her mandate was set to end June 30 but the UN has failed to appoint her successor. UN Chief Antonio Guterres has proposed former Algerian top diplomat Sabri Boukadoum but the UAE and several other Arab countries have opposed the choice.

“There is a regional concern about Boukadoum’s appointment, especially since Algeria has a common border with Libya,” a diplomatic source that asked not to be named told AFP.

Russia and Egypt have been pushing for the appointment of an African diplomat to head the UN mission in the crisis-hit North African country.

Libya has descended into chaos since the assassination of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-led revolution in 2011.
Libya has currently two governments backed by foreign countries vying for influence.