Published: January 27, 2012
Is Libya Going Through a Difficult Transition?
By Mina Fabulous 
Top United Nations envoy in the country told the Security Council today that Libya is going through a difficult transition.
The Secretary-General's Special Representative and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Ian Martin said Libya has inherited weak state institutions and an absence of political parties.
The mission, based in the capital, Tripoli, is assististing the authorities in restoring public security, plan for elections and ensure transitional justice.
However, Mr. Martin stressed that the interim Government is committed to addressing the challenges.
"The former regime may have been toppled, but the harsh reality is that the Libyan people continue to have to live with its deep-rooted legacy; weak, at times absent, state institutions, coupled with the long absence of political parties and civil society organizations, which render the country's transition more difficult." - Mr. Martin
A crowd of demonstrators protest the ongoing use of weapons by rebel militias inside Tripoli and the accompanying atmosphere of lawlessness. They carry banners demanding disarmament of the militias and the creation of a national army. The newly-formed Libyan government is struggling to assert itself over the disparate power actors who have emerged over the past year.UN Photo/Iason Foounten
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He noted it is further complicated by what was a systematic distortion of the country's socio-political fabric.
He reiterated that security remains a major concern. He noted that events over the past month highlight the risks associated with both the continued abundance of weapons on the streets, and the diverse armed "brigades" in the country with unclear lines of command and control.
In the capital, Tripoli, clashes earlier this month between rival brigades from Misrata and Tripoli resulted in several fatalities and injuries, as well as confrontation between such groups in Gheryan and al-Asab'a, and fighting between the local population and the brigades in Bani Walid this week required high-level intervention to put an end to the violence.
"Although authorities have successfully contained these and other more minor incidents that continue to take place across the country on a regular basis, there is the ever-present possibility that similar outbreaks of violence could escalate and widen in scope." - Mr. Martin
He said the National Transitional Council (NTC) is laying the foundation for the establishment of democratic governance. However, he pointed out that a combination of a tight timeline, inexperience in drafting electoral legislation, shortcomings in communication and the lack of proper mechanisms for consultation have set limitations to the process of drafting the electoral law.
"The NTC and most stakeholders have remained determined that the commitment in the Constitutional Declaration to elect a National Congress by late June must be respected. This has left little time for consultations on the legislative framework, which must embody some difficult and inevitably controversial political choices." -Mr. Martin
The NTC's Electoral Committee made efforts to engage the public and published the draft law, with the engagement of UNSMIL's electoral team.
The National Transitional Council of Libya is the de facto government of Libya. It was established by anti-Gaddafi forces during the Libyan civil war, which pitted these forces against the government of Colonel Muammar Gaddafi.
Hundreds of people are confirmed to have been killed since opposition forces rose up against the regime of Mr. Qadhafi in February 2011 as part of a wider pro-democracy movement across North Africa and the Middle East.
Mina Fabulous follows the news, especially what is going on in the US State Department. Mina turns State Department waffle into plain english. Contact Mina through NewsBlaze.
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