Paris // The United Nations this week embarked on a risky strategy by throwing its support behind a new government to bring peace to Libya as it tackles the growing menace of ISIL.
The new administration, the Government of National Accord (GNA), is the result of more than a year of UN mediation between Libya’s warring factions. It is designed to end a civil war that has brought chaos and allowed the extremist group to flourish.
“The members of the Security Council renewed their call ... on member states to cease support to and official contact with parallel institutions that claim to be the legitimate authority but are outside of the Libyan Political Agreement,” said the UN on Monday.
The plan is that the nine-member presidential council of the GNA will move to Tripoli from its current base in Tunis – the Tunisian capital – and take control of key ministries and the central bank. Both Libya’s existing governments, in Tripoli and Tobruk, will defer to it and a new cabinet can begin rebuilding the country while a unified army can turn its guns on ISIL.
America’s Libya envoy Jonathan Winer expressed hope that the new government could end the division between the existing adminstrations. “Tripoli-Tobruk competition has failed to secure stability, safety, jobs, health care, electricity to Libya’s people. GNA must do this,” he tweeted.
Libyans are certainly suffering. More than half a million of the six million population are refugees, fleeing both the civil war between the forces of the rival governments and a rapidly expanding ISIL. The chaos from two competing central banks squabbling for the country’s foreign reserves has led to shortages of medical supplies, petrol and flour. The UN’s Libya envoy Martin Kobler declared last week that 95 per cent of Libyans want a unity government.
But first the GNA needs to move from Tunis to Tripoli, and this is where the problems begin.
The National Salvation Government in Tripoli, and its parliament, the General National Congress, are opposed to both the Tobruk goverenment and the GNA. Many of Tripoli’s galaxy of militias have also refused to cooperate with the GNA.
On top of this, the city is becoming increasingly dangerous.
“In Tripoli, clashes between armed groups have been occurring on an almost weekly basis, especially in the second half of 2015,” the UN security council’s panel of experts said in report last week. “Security in Tripoli is linked to evolving alliances among armed groups and their stance vis-a-vis the United Nations-sponsored dialogue.”
The GNA has a complicated structure. It was created by Libya Dialogue, a UN-chaired negotiating team comprising 40 delegates from both existing governments and some key factions.
It is led by a nine-strong presidency with a prime minister, Faiz Al Siraj, a respected Tripoli politician.
The UN plan calls for the GNA to be endorsed by the internationally recognised parliament in Tobruk, after which that recognition status would shift to the GNA, giving it control of Libya’s overseas assets and oil income.
However, four debating sessions called this year to debate the move broke up without a vote. On February 23, a letter was published with the names of 100 members of the Tobruk parliament stating they supported the GNA, but disruption and chaos in the chamber prevented a vote from taking place.
It is this letter that the UN has relied upon in declaring the new government’s legitimacy. But many question the validity of the letter.
Mohammed Shoaib, Tobruk’s deputy speaker and a prominent member of Libya Dialogue, has declared that the letter is not enough, and that for legal reasons parliament must vote for the GNA to be valid.
Prime minister Khalifa Al Ghweil of the Tripoli-based government has refused to step aside and on Tuesday suggested the GNA may face arrest if it enters the city. When a GNA security unit flew from Tunis to Tripoli’s Meetiga airport last week, they were briefly arrested by a local militia but were later allowed to leave Libya.
What these disputes underline is the failure of the new administration to prove that it is a truly a “unity government” for all Libyans.
Yet in the absence of unity, Libya’s chaos can only grow worse.
ISIL continues to grow, with the Pentagon estimating it has 5,000 fighters in the country. This week, the extremists struck at Sarir, the largest remaining group of working oil fields, following attacks in January on the oil ports of Es Sider and Ras Lanuf.
The European Union on Wednesday ordered sanctions on the parliamentary leaders of both existing governments in Tripoli and Tobruk, accusing them of obstructing the GNA.
Foreign powers met in Rome on Wednesday saying they may consider launching air strikes against ISIL, easing the UN arms embargo and providing trainers for a new Libyan army, if the new government makes a formal request.
But first, this new government must move to Tripoli, and demonstrate it really is a unity administration accepted by all Libyans. Failure to do this will leave Libya with three competing governments, magnifiying the country’s chaos.
foreign.desk@thenational.ae
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Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
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- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
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A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Test
Director: S Sashikanth
Cast: Nayanthara, Siddharth, Meera Jasmine, R Madhavan
Star rating: 2/5
Section 375
Cast: Akshaye Khanna, Richa Chadha, Meera Chopra & Rahul Bhat
Director: Ajay Bahl
Producers: Kumar Mangat Pathak, Abhishek Pathak & SCIPL
Rating: 3.5/5
23-man shortlist for next six Hall of Fame inductees
Tony Adams, David Beckham, Dennis Bergkamp, Sol Campbell, Eric Cantona, Andrew Cole, Ashley Cole, Didier Drogba, Les Ferdinand, Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Fowler, Steven Gerrard, Roy Keane, Frank Lampard, Matt Le Tissier, Michael Owen, Peter Schmeichel, Paul Scholes, John Terry, Robin van Persie, Nemanja Vidic, Patrick Viera, Ian Wright.
Quick pearls of wisdom
Focus on gratitude: And do so deeply, he says. “Think of one to three things a day that you’re grateful for. It needs to be specific, too, don’t just say ‘air.’ Really think about it. If you’re grateful for, say, what your parents have done for you, that will motivate you to do more for the world.”
Know how to fight: Shetty married his wife, Radhi, three years ago (he met her in a meditation class before he went off and became a monk). He says they’ve had to learn to respect each other’s “fighting styles” – he’s a talk it-out-immediately person, while she needs space to think. “When you’re having an argument, remember, it’s not you against each other. It’s both of you against the problem. When you win, they lose. If you’re on a team you have to win together.”
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Three ways to limit your social media use
Clinical psychologist, Dr Saliha Afridi at The Lighthouse Arabia suggests three easy things you can do every day to cut back on the time you spend online.
1. Put the social media app in a folder on the second or third screen of your phone so it has to remain a conscious decision to open, rather than something your fingers gravitate towards without consideration.
2. Schedule a time to use social media instead of consistently throughout the day. I recommend setting aside certain times of the day or week when you upload pictures or share information.
3. Take a mental snapshot rather than a photo on your phone. Instead of sharing it with your social world, try to absorb the moment, connect with your feeling, experience the moment with all five of your senses. You will have a memory of that moment more vividly and for far longer than if you take a picture of it.
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
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How to apply for a drone permit
- Individuals must register on UAE Drone app or website using their UAE Pass
- Add all their personal details, including name, nationality, passport number, Emiratis ID, email and phone number
- Upload the training certificate from a centre accredited by the GCAA
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What are the regulations?
- Fly it within visual line of sight
- Never over populated areas
- Ensure maximum flying height of 400 feet (122 metres) above ground level is not crossed
- Users must avoid flying over restricted areas listed on the UAE Drone app
- Only fly the drone during the day, and never at night
- Should have a live feed of the drone flight
- Drones must weigh 5 kg or less
Dubai Bling season three
Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed
Rating: 1/5
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
