The United Nations’ Special Representative for Libya, Hanna Tetteh, has cautioned that growing divisions within Libya’s judiciary and a worsening economic climate are placing the country’s unity at risk and could destabilize the wider region.
Briefing the UN Security Council, Tetteh stated that conditions in Libya are deteriorating on multiple fronts.
She warned that the once largely unified judicial system — including the Supreme Court in Tripoli and its Constitutional Chamber — is now fracturing, with parallel and conflicting rulings threatening governance, elections, security, human rights and economic stability.
She described the preservation of judicial unity as a “red line”, urging Libyan authorities to avoid escalatory actions and to cooperate with an independent mediation committee of judicial and legal experts working to safeguard institutional cohesion. She further called on the Security Council to hold accountable individuals whose actions risk deepening divisions within the justice system.
Beyond institutional concerns, Tetteh highlighted mounting economic pressures, pointing to currency depreciation, rising living costs, fuel shortages and growing public discontent. She noted that the absence of a unified national budget, uncoordinated spending by rival administrations and declining oil revenues have created persistent foreign exchange imbalances, rendering the current economic model unsustainable.
She warned that the convergence of economic hardship and fragile security conditions could precipitate further political and security crises, undermining Libya’s territorial integrity and impacting regional stability.
Tetteh stressed that a unified government and coordinated reforms remain essential, describing a comprehensive political settlement as the only viable path to restoring national cohesion. She also underscored the importance of sustained international backing for ongoing UN-led efforts to advance a political roadmap.
