Angela Xu
Troy High School
Australia
The ongoing fight for power and control between the General National Accord (GNA) and the General National Congress (GNC) of Libya has been drawn on for several years with no clear solution in sight. Not only has the conflict left a huge negative impact on the oil industry in Libya, after the Libyan National Army took over the National Oil Corporation 1 , the revenue generated from producing oil has gone directly to funding the GNC’s cause. This continuous cycle of economic and political instability has fueled a continually worsening humanitarian crisis. The Commonwealth of Australia remains neutral in this conflict, however, condemns both sides for the destruction and internal displacement this conflict has caused. Since the start of the conflict in 2011, the combination of economic instability, civil unrest, and armed conflict have caused an estimated 800,000 people to be in urgent need of humanitarian aid, of which more than half are internally displaced, and a quarter of which are children. 2 As oil production increases everyday, so does the number of people that are in critical need of healthcare, shelter, food, and other basic necessities. In the absence of a stable government, millions of people in the region are also facing human rights violations, a lack of infrastructure and education, Australia has worked with the United Nations in attempts to send aid to Libya, such as in Resolution 2486. 3 But without an increase in international involvement on this crisis, the death toll will continue to rise. However, Australia strongly urges member States to not get involved in regards to military aspects of the conflict (i.e. supplying arms, funding troops), for the only result will be added violence and instability in the region. Our delegation encourages this committee to making sending humanitarian aid our main priority. Apart from the few UN plans — such as the Humanitarian Response Plan 4 —- and the work of small nonprofit organizations, very little attention has been given to the lack of basic necessities and rights millions of Libyans have. The Commonwealth of Australia hopes to change this though leading by example, our government works with organizations like Red Star One to provide Libyans with over 150 tons of supplies and providing 25 million in relief efforts. 5 Even though a permanent solution that can bring an end to the violence and political instability seems unlikely due to the failure of previous compromises like the Libyan Political Agreement, Australia expresses its hopes that we can lessen the severity of the humanitarian crisis in the region through larger collaboration with nonprofits and other organizations to bring funds, medical supplies, food, and shelter to the hundreds of thousands of people in the region who suffer the direct consequences of this ongoing conflict.
- Angela Xu
