UN special adviser to Libya steps down after her term expires

July 31 (EUROPA PRESS) –

The United Nations has announced that the special adviser to the Secretary-General on Libya, Stephanie Williams, is leaving her post after the expiration of her mandate and that the coordinator of the UN mission in the country, Raisedon Zenenga, will be the main interlocutor until the appointment of a substitute.

“We are trying, as soon as we can, to have at least one interim person appointed to do the type of task that Stephanie Williams was doing, but until then I don’t have anyone to appoint,” explained the spokesman for the Secretary General of the UN, Farhan Haq, in statements collected by the portal ‘The Libya Updatee’

“As you know, we have a functioning UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). The officer in charge of that mission is the same as it has been, which is Raisedon Zenenga, so he will continue to be the officer in charge until we can name someone else”, he concluded.

The spokesman has not given reasons why Williams has decided not to extend his stay in office, which he assumed in December and which expired at the end of the month, beyond “other commitments” that he had to fulfill.

Williams served as Deputy Special Representative of the UN Support Mission from 2018 to 2020, then Acting Special Representative and Head of the UN Support Mission in Libya from 2020 to 2021, after which she was appointed Adviser to the Secretary General of the United Nations in December 2021.