Martin Kobler took up his new job as the United Nations secretary general’s special representative in Libya on November 17. By November 23, he had visited both the Tobruk-based elected House of Representatives (HOR) and its rival, the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC).
He has made a quick start in his bid to bring peace to the war-ravaged country. But that task is daunting and has already eluded two of his processors, the last of whom left in controversy surrounding his tactics and negotiating behaviour.
Mr Kobler is an experienced German diplomat with years of work as UN envoy to Afghanistan and Iraq. He is also used to controversy and harsh criticism.
His first urgent priority is regaining the trust of his Libyan interlocutors in both Tobruk and Tripoli, which has been badly affected over the past couple of months.
His predecessor, Bernardino Leon, departed amid controversy and a barrage of accusations from both the GNC and HOR over his handling of the negotiations.
Mr Kobler should keep the same distance from both sides as well as from all the regional powers that have been known to have been involved in Libyan affairs. Consulting any party to facilitate the talks is a good thing, but involving them is recipe for failure.
Before leaving his post, Mr Leon proposed a government of national accord pending the approval of both the HOR and GNC on condition that proposed ministers should be approved or rejected by both sides without any debate.
One of the reasons that the HOR rejected the proposed government was that it included some politicians from Tripoli who have been accused of serious violence and direct links to militias suspected of committing bloody crimes in western Libya.
On the other hand, the GNC has accused Gen Khalifa Haftar, commander of the Tobruk-backed Libyan army, of committing crimes in Benghazi, and asked for his removal from the consensus government.
If dropping Gen Haftar means agreement and final settlement, he should go for the benefit of the country. In any case, Mr Kobler should avoid this deadlock by opening up the discussion.
As a mediator, Mr Kobler must present another power-sharing formula reflecting Libya’s demographics and involving each region and community in the country. If any part of Libya feels it has been left behind, any agreement would be unlikely to hold.
Transparency is also important. In previous talks, the parties have rarely sat in the same room and have been told only what they want to hear. In one negotiating round held in Skhirat, Morocco, both sides complained about the lack of accurate information given to them by the UN team.
Most important, perhaps, is for Mr Kobler to secure the support of the UN Security Council, in word and in deed – particularly in terms of its readiness to reinforce its resolutions concerning Libya adopted since the war erupted in 2011.
On many occasions, the Security Council has expressed its unreserved support for the UN-led political process in Libya but all that talk has failed to convince renegade parties that it means business. This is especially true in the case of resolution 1970, which imposed an arms embargo on Libya, and resolution 2174, which threatened punitive action against individuals and entities accused of committing crimes against the civilian population.
Resolution 2174 was also intended to deter those creating obstacles for political agreement. This can only happen if the council takes some steps to show that it is serious – for example, by issuing direct public warnings to any party seen to be playing a negative role.
Regional countries have been accused of supplying arms to different groups in Libya in direct violation of UN resolutions. These activities should cease if peace is to be given a chance.
One other way for the UN to help its leading negotiator in Libya is to clear the controversy surrounding the tactics of his predecessor. This is not to say that Mr Leon is guilty of anything, it means that the world body must show that it is serious about its mediating role in Libya and it wants to bring peace to that country.
Mustafa Fetouri is an independent Libyan academic and journalist who lives in Belgium