UN Mission: Southern youth welcome the agreement reached at the mini-meeting, and emphasize the importance of participating in the political process

Sebha, September 22, 2026 (LANA) – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced that approximately 65 young men and women, along with a number of local officials and journalists from the southern region, participated in an online meeting with the Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Political Affairs, Stephanie Khoury, to discuss the current situation in Libya and the political process sponsored by the Mission, particularly the Mini-Meeting Agreement and the next steps.

During the session, organized by the Sebha Municipality Youth Office on Wednesday, participants from the municipalities of Umm al-Aranib, Ubari, Brak al-Shati, Barqan, and Sebha attended in person and welcomed the Mini-Meeting Agreement signed in Tripoli on August 30.

According to the mission, a participant from Sabha said, “The 4+4 track [mini-meeting] represents a real opportunity to break the political deadlock plaguing the country and to move the political roadmap forward.” Another participant from Sabha echoed this sentiment, saying, “The agreement offers a glimmer of hope for unifying state institutions, which is of utmost importance to us.” She added that the country needs to move beyond the multiplicity of political tracks and initiatives and instead focus on unifying efforts behind this single track to achieve comprehensive national elections.

The participants reiterated the importance of including the Fezzan region in any political processes and ending the economic and political marginalization suffered by the south.

A participating journalist stated, “We must stop talking only about unifying institutions; we need to foster a sense of belonging to a unified Libya where all Libyans enjoy equal rights.” A participating student added, “Building Libya begins with ensuring justice in all regions regarding opportunities for education, training, employment, and political participation.”

Youth engagement and representation in the political process remain a top priority for participants, who called for the allocation of specific seats for youth within state institutions to ensure their voices are heard and their participation is meaningful, according to the mission.

The Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Khoury, emphasized the UN Support Mission in Libya’s (UNSMIL) recognition of the importance of engaging youth as active and vital partners in policymaking and decision-making. She stated, “The structured dialogue process witnessed very effective participation from young people across various regions, both in the dialogue itself and through the accompanying digital youth platform.”

She added, “Youth participation should not be limited to simply having seats in any dialogue process; rather, young people and their organizations must unite their efforts to create a strong youth network capable of conveying youth ideas and demands to national and local authorities and holding them accountable to ensure the effective implementation of their mandates.”

At the conclusion of the meeting, participants presented a set of recommendations to the mission regarding the political process. These included strengthening political consensus to finalize the electoral legal framework, empowering the High National Elections Commission, and adhering to a specific timetable for elections. In addition to establishing a joint monitoring mechanism to continuously track progress in implementing the recommendations with the relevant authorities, the participants also recommended supporting the unification of state institutions to end the political division and directly link political stability to economic development, improved public services, and job creation.

They further recommended establishing a joint monitoring mechanism to continuously track progress in implementing the recommendations with the relevant authorities, and assisting young people, including women, persons with disabilities, and representatives from southern Libya (Fezzan), to move from the role of passive listeners to that of active partners in peacebuilding, policy formulation, and implementation.

The participants also recommended establishing direct communication channels, documenting youth outputs, strengthening the UN Support Mission in Libya's field presence in the southern regions to ensure the follow-up and implementation of local recommendations, and launching awareness programs focusing on youth unemployment, job opportunities, political participation, elections, and other related issues.

The UN mission stated that the smaller meeting is a key element of the UN Support Mission in Libya’s political roadmap, which aims to address the first two phases of the roadmap to enable free, fair, and inclusive national elections. Furthermore, the structured dialogue published its recommendations on governance, the economy, security, human rights, and national reconciliation in June. These recommendations will help identify priorities that must be addressed to create the necessary conditions for holding national elections and will contribute to guiding subsequent steps in the political process.

UNSMIL continues to advocate for the active participation and voices of young people through its Youth Participate program and the Women Leaders training program for young women. Discussions and training sessions, both in person and online, will be held in the coming months on the political process. 

...(LANA)...