'Deception Plan'; Why the United Nations Appointed Stephanie Williams as a Special Advisor for Libya

An Italian magazine considered that the selection of American Stephanie Williams, in early December 2021, as a special advisor to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, Antonio Guterres, in the file of the Libyan crisis, was necessary.

Formiche magazine said that the decision was welcomed positively, given the skills and experience of American diplomacy in the file, noting the possibility that it would contribute to a greater participation of Washington in the scene.

It explained that this decision, which came after the resignation of the Slovakian special envoy Jan Kubis weeks ago, aims to save the elections scheduled for December 24, 2021.

 

Tactical Move

It also considered it a "tactical step to circumvent Russia,” which wanted to block the selection of a new special envoy by using its veto in the Security Council, as it would complicate the electoral process, which is part of stability.

It pointed out that the United Nations had embarked on this path since the fall of 2020, by appointing an interim government tasked with making the necessary preparations to go to the polls.

Formiche believes that "the absence of an official representative of the United Nations in the somewhat complex electoral process, would lead to the disclosure of weakness that might be exploited by powerful forces inside and outside Libya."

The magazine noted that Williams is aware of the situation in the country, especially as he held the position of former Deputy Special Envoy Ghassan Salameh before he temporarily replaced him after his resignation.

It is reported that the latter was one of the first to announce and welcome the decision to appoint Williams as a special counsel.

He wrote in a post on his official Twitter account, "I thank the Secretary-General for his decision to return my colleague Stephanie Williams to the position of responsibility in Libya for what I know about her skill, capabilities and determination to complete what we started together."

The magazine reported that Williams had overseen the diplomatic talks and negotiations that led to the formation of the current national unity government headed by Abdel Hamid Dbeibeh, the first after seven years of armed conflicts and divisions.

This government resulted in the meetings of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum, which the US diplomacy called for to be established at the United Nations to implement the ceasefire agreement that was reached on the ground.

The Italian magazine indicated that the purpose of its founding was also to work to reduce the weight of the interference of external parties, which lined up alongside Libyan parties with hybrid and regular military units in Tripoli and Cyrenaica.

In the same regard, the magazine referred to the presence of Turkish forces in the West mobilized by Ankara after a military cooperation agreement signed with the former Government of National Accord led by Fayez Al-Sarraj (which is internationally recognized).

This is in exchange for the deployment of mercenaries from the Russian Wagner Group and other African military contractors (possibly financed by some Gulf countries) in the east of the country, according to the magazine.

 

Time For Stabilization

During the "Mediterranean Dialogues" forum recently organized in Rome, Williams highlighted the importance of the electoral process to complete the stage of stability, in addition to the strategic value of Libya for the Mediterranean and the Middle East and North Africa.

American diplomacy also considered the file a "priority" for the White House. The magazine commented by saying that the last point constitutes another factor behind her appointment as an advisor to the Secretary-General.

It explained that "the United States can now begin to think again about its interests in Libya, not only against the terrorists who are still operating in the country, but also for its political destiny."

It added that the importance is related to the external presence in Libya, especially the Russians, overlooking the central Mediterranean, steps away from the strategic infrastructure and US bases stationed on the island of Sicily.

According to the analysis of the Italian expert on Libya Daniele Ruvinetti, "the holding of elections, and thus a government elected by the people, will allow powers such as the United States to engage more in Libya."

So the new government will take advantage of this to be protected from difficult task of getting foreign forces out of the country.

Also with regard to the role of the United States in the Libyan crisis, American diplomacy had told the Italian “Nova” news agency in June 2021 that it had noticed “more coherence in the strategy” of the current administration led by US President Joe Biden.

It pointed out that "there was a complete disconnection of various American agencies from the Libyan file during the era of the previous administration led by Donald Trump."

It added in the same statements, "Now a strong and united message is coming from Washington and this is very important for the Libyans, and frankly also for the various external spoilers."

Washington considered recently assigning the role of the United States' special envoy to the current ambassador, Richard Norland, as "it could help in international mediation."

For its part, the Italian Foreign Ministry welcomed the decision of the Secretary-General of the United Nations.

"The UN mission can make a decisive contribution to the holding of free, fair and simultaneous presidential and parliamentary elections, as stipulated in Security Council Resolutions 2570 and 2571 as well as in the Tunisia Road Map," he said in a note.

He added that “it also supports comprehensive paths of dialogue at the political, security, economic and humanitarian levels by taking advantage of the tools provided by the Berlin conference process."

"The appointment of Stephanie Williams will enhance the ability of the United Nations mission effectively to assist Libyan institutions to ensure that the Libyan people choose their representatives without obstacles."