The UN Security Council has welcomed a breakthrough agreement between Libya's rival political blocs, calling it "an important step" towards the country's first national elections in over a decade - while pressing all sides to move quickly from paper to practice.

Key points

• Libya's rival political camps have agreed on new rules for running the elections commission and holding a vote within two years
• The UN Security Council welcomed the deal and is urging all sides to follow through quickly
• The UN's top official in Libya says trust - among politicians and ordinary Libyans alike - is still fragile
• Online hate speech and harassment are pushing Libyan women out of political life, she warns, and stronger legal protections are needed

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In a statement issued Tuesday, council members praised the 30 August agreement reached by Libyan parties in what has become known as the "Smaller Convening", a negotiating track brokered by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

The deal reconstitutes the board of Libya's High National Elections Commission and amends the legal framework for parliamentary and presidential elections, to be held within two years under a single, unified government.

Council pledges 'full support' for mission

The council urged Libyan political leaders to back the agreement and move towards implementing it, while reaffirming its "full support" for UNSMIL and its head, Special Representative of the Secretary-General Hannah Tetteh.

Libya's current stalemate between rival administrations in the west and east, traces back to the collapse of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 following civil conflict and international military intervention, which triggered the collapse of State institutions, left security structures divided and triggered recurring struggles over legitimacy, authority and the oil-rich economy.

Speaking to UN News last week, Ms. Tetteh described the agreement as one that "helped overcome issues that had stood in the way for many years", adding that it gives the mission "an initial opportunity to engage more with Libyan stakeholders...and build trust in the process we are working with them to achieve".

The deal resolves two of the thorniest disputes blocking elections: how to properly compose the elections commission board so that all three of Libya's regions are represented, and a rule linking the success of legislative elections to presidential ones.

Rather than negotiate separately with Libya's two rival legislative bodies, Ms. Tetteh said UNSMIL brought together representatives of the Tripoli-based Government of National Unity, the eastern-based Libyan National Army command, and both parliamentary chambers to thrash out the issues jointly.

Fragile trust

But she cautioned that trust remains fragile - "not just between the political actors, but among the Libyan people themselves" - in the mechanisms that will eventually deliver a vote.

That trust-building draws on a structured dialogue UNSMIL ran between December 2025 and June 2026, consulting 120 Libyans from across the country's regions and communities.

Ms. Tetteh named broad public buy-in as the biggest challenge ahead, alongside unifying Libya's divided military, security and economic institutions.

"We are not here to replace the Libyan people," she said, "but to support them in achieving their political aspirations toward good governance, unity, peace and security."

She also raised concerns about online hate speech and harassment targeting Libyan women active in public life, which she said is designed to "intimidate them and prevent them from exercising their rights".

Women made up 35 per cent of participants in the structured dialogue, and Ms. Tetteh called for stronger legal protections so they can take part in civic life without fear. Hear more from her on this in the clip below.

On security, she noted that rivalries between armed groups remain concentrated mainly in western Libya, but said local leaders there have so far shown willingness to work with UNSMIL to defuse tensions before they escalate.