On 9 September, Jonathan M. Winer (former United States Special Envoy for Libya) published a report for the Middle East Institute (MEI) entitled 'Time to go local in Libya'. Following the appointment of Senegalese diplomat Abdoulaye Bathily as the special representative of the United Nations secretary-general (SRSG) for Libya and the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Winer assesses what can be done for Bathily to succeed in stabilising Libya where his predecessors have failed. Winer argues that Bathily cannot rely 'listening and learning, cajoling and counselling, but never commanding' as his predecessors have. Winer says Bathily must readily familiarise himself with Libya and begin acting as a trailblazer if he hopes to lead Libya beyond its decade-long impasse. Winer argues that Bathily should go beyond existing political frameworks used by the UN and 'go local'. Winer says Bathily must work with local political figures and governments if he wishes to break the status quo, form a unitary government, or agree on a schedule for elections.
To read the full report click here.