Bonaventura Model United Nations
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2014
Research Report
Forum: Security Council
Issue: The Question of Libya
Student Officer: Jesper Kuppen
Position: President
Introduction
When, in 1969, Colonel Muammar Gaddafi successfully conducted a coup
d’état in Libya, overthrowing king Idriss, he and his revolutionary Command
Council assumed absolute power over Libya. Until 2011 did his revolutionary
regime reigned over Libya. The Arabic Spring, beginning in Tunisia, had caused
the overthrow of the regime and the death of Col. Gaddafi in October 2011.
The people were not happy with his rule and political doctrine, for the people
had very little rights and were more slaves to the regime. When NATO started
helping the rebels, Gaddafi was overthrown within months. During this
rebellion all sorts of militant groups arose, which on this present day count up
to approximately 1700 armed groups, within Libya. The parties that try to
exercise power in Libya have very little control over their territories due to the
on-going hostilities between militant groups and due to the upcoming jihadist
presence. Islamic State is also slowly but steady gaining presence and support
in Libya. It controls the city of Derna.
Major Parties Involved
Libya
Entire Libya is quite involved in this issue as has been explained in the
introduction. The country is ranked 25th on the Fragile State Index, and is on its
way to make it to the top 20. The country has a government, but this
government has very little control over its country, for it is divided and in the
middle of a civil war. The Second Libyan Civil War. By addressing Libya, one
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addresses the internationally recognised Tobruk Government/Council of
Deputies led by General officer Khalifa Haftar. This government also controls
the Libyan Army. It has been supported by airstrikes by Egypt and the United
Arab Emirates.
New General National Congress
The rival Islamist government of the new General National Congress based in
the capital Tripoli, led by the Muslim Brotherhood, backed by the wider Islamist
coalition known as "Libya Dawn" and aided by Qatar, Sudan, and Turkey.
The Islamist Shura Council of Benghazi Revolutionaries
This is a militant group led by the jihadist Ansar al-Sharia group. They had the
support of the New General National Congress and were praised by them. They
want the same as most of the other militant groups, power and control in Libya
to spread their religious and/or political ideas.
Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Libya
This is the name for ISIL in Libya, it controls the cities of Sirte, Ajdabiya and
Derna. It also controls parts of Benghazi together with members of Ansar alSharia. It has publicly announced its presence as part of ISIL in October 2014,
since then it has been trying to expand its territory.
United States of America
The United States trains and non-militarily assists the Libyan government’s
army in order to prevent and stop Libya from becoming a jihadist hotspot and
in order for Libya to become a stable country. The United States of course see
the rise of jihadist activity in Libya as a threat for homeland security. Besides
this, the United States have participated in the NATO attack on Gaddafi’s
regime, thus has it since been directly involved in this conflict, together with
the other NATO countries that participated in the attacks.
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Conflict map of Libya1
Red: Tobruk-led Government and Libyan National Army
Green: New General National Congress and Allies
Grey/black: Ansar al-Sharia and ISIL
1 Libyan Civil War. Digital image. Wikimedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Aug. 2015. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Libyan_Civil_War.png .
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Yellow: Tuareg forces
Blue: Local forces
General Overview
Libya’s government is struggling to maintain order and rebuild state institutions
amid rising violence since the ouster and subsequent death of Colonel
Muammar al-Qaddafi in October 2011. The presence of rebel militias has
increased—approximately 1,700 armed groups, including fighters loyal to the
self-declared Islamic State—especially since the attack on the U.S. consulate in
Benghazi on September 11, 2012.
Libya's House of Representatives (HoR) has struggled to consolidate legitimacy
as the main authoritative power in Libya, after replacing the General National
Congress (GNC) in June 2014. Prime Minister Abdullah al-Thinni has tried to
regain control of the government, but continues to face opposition from
multiple fronts.
In September 2014, a former Qaddafi loyalist, retired General Khalifa Haftar
began “Operation Dignity” with an initial focus on attacking Islamist militant
groups in Benghazi, and later calling for a dissolution of the GNC. To counter
this revolutionary movement, an alliance of Islamists and militias formed
“Operation Dawn.” The current conflict pits the Dawn coalition, which controls
Tripoli and much of western Libya, against the Dignity coalition, which controls
parts of Cyrenaica and Benghazi. Each coalition has its own self-declared
parliament and government, as well as nominal military chiefs. The United
Nations has created a proposal for a national unity government that would
reinstall the Dignity-affiliated parliament in Tripoli along with a mostly Dawnaffiliated consultative body, but it is unclear whether either group will accept
the proposal.
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A growing presence of jihadists affiliated with Ansar al-Sharia and the selfdeclared Islamic State are also gaining a foothold in Libya. Taking advantage of
the widespread political instability, jihadists are using the country as a hub to
coordinate broader regional violence and launch attacks. Since these terrorist
groups regard Dawn and Dignity as enemies, their growth only threatens to
further escalate the violence and fracture warring parties.2
Map of attacks from Islamic State and Ansar al-Sharia in Libya.3
2 "Political Instability in Libya." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
http://www.cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137#!/?marker=14 .
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Previous Solutions
In 2011 the UN Security Council (UNSC) passed a resolution that authorised the
deployment of United Nations Support Mission in Lybia (UNSMIL). UNSMIL has
the following tasks:
 It assists the Libyan government with the democratic transition and
improving the political situation.
 It assists the Libyan government in improving the rule of law and human
rights.
 It assists the Libyan government in improving the security situation in
Libya.
 It assists the Libyan government in improving the diplomatic actions and
situation.
The mandate for UNSMIL has ben renewed every year by the UNSC. The UNSC
has recently passed a resolution that is aimed on countering terrorism in Libya.
This is ‘Security Council Resolution 2214’.
In order to help rebuild and refocus Libya’s security infrastructure, the United
States will train five thousand to eight thousand security forces, as it is
increasingly concerned about the prevalence of terrorist groups and potential
weapons transfers across the country’s unmonitored borders. Other
neighbouring countries have vowed to offer security assistance over fear of
Islamic State spillover, which established a foothold in the Libyan city of Derna,
close to the border with Egypt.4
3 Islamic State Attacks in Libya. Digital image. Energy Policy Information Center. Energy Policy Information Center, 17
Mar. 2015. Web. 14 Sept. 2015. http://energypolicyinfo.com/2015/03/isis-in-libya/ .
4 "Political Instability in Libya." Council on Foreign Relations. Council on Foreign Relations, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
http://www.cfr.org/global/global-conflict-tracker/p32137#!/?marker=14 .
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Bibliography
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Libyan Civil War. Digital image. Wikimedia. Wikimedia Foundation, 17 Aug. 2015.
Web. 14 Sept. 2015. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Libyan_Civil_War.png
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Islamic State Attacks in Libya. Digital image. Energy Policy Information Center. Energy
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http://energypolicyinfo.com/2015/03/isis-in-libya/ .
"UNSMIL Mandate." UNSMIL. UNSMIL, n.d. Web. 14 Sept. 2015.
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