Libya’s ambassador to the United Nations said Tuesday that his government is refusing to give its consent for UN action aimed at endorsing Europe’s military plan to fight migrant smugglers in the Mediterranean.
Ambassador Ibrahim Dabbashi told AFP that as long as European governments were discussing the plan with Libyan militias that control coastal territory, there would be no green light for a UN resolution.
“The position of Libya is clear: as long as the European Union and some other countries are not dealing with the legitimate government as the sole representative of the Libyan people, they will not get any consent on our part,” Dabbashi said in an interview.
EU foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini last month appeared before the Security Council to request UN backing for Europe’s plan to confront the migrant crisis by using military force against smugglers.
The Security Council’s EU members — Britain, France, Lithuania and Spain — are working with Italy on a draft resolution that would endorse the EU naval force, authorizing the use of force in Libyan territorial waters.
But the resolution requires the Libyan government to first give its consent for the operations that could also take place on its coastal territory.