New York — October 14, 2026

First Committee – General Debate – 81st Session of the General Assembly

Unofficial Translation

Libya Statement

Delivered by Mr. Abdullah M O Aletwi, Second Secretary

 

 

Mr. Chair,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

At the outset, I am pleased to extend my sincere congratulations to you and to the distinguished members of the Bureau on assuming the leadership of the work of the First Committee at this session.

In affirming my delegation’s full support to you, we are fully confident that your experience and wisdom will be of great assistance to us all in ensuring the success of this session and in reaching outcomes that strengthen international peace and security.

Mr. Chair,

Our meeting today takes place at a critical international juncture. Our world is facing growing and serious security challenges, and an escalation in geopolitical tensions that we view with deep concern, accompanied by a tangible decline in confidence in the multilateral system and in the effectiveness of its implementation frameworks. These exceptional circumstances leave no room for hesitation. Rather, they require all of us to give primacy to serious and direct dialogue, and to act in a genuine spirit of collective responsibility to strengthen and activate arms control and disarmament frameworks, and to avoid sliding into new arms races in which there are no winners.

In this strategic context, the State of Libya affirms the following principles and positions:

First: Comprehensive and Complete Nuclear Disarmament
The total and final elimination of nuclear weapons remains the only real guarantee of comprehensive global peace and security. We consider the continued modernization of nuclear arsenals a departure from the spirit of international agreements, and we urge all States, in particular nuclear-weapon States, to comply fully and strictly with the purposes and provisions of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), and to fulfil their disarmament commitments unconditionally.

Second: Ridding the Middle East of Weapons of Mass Destruction
My country reaffirms the utmost and urgent importance of establishing a zone free of nuclear weapons and all other weapons of mass destruction in the Middle East.

Stability in our region cannot be complete while exceptions exist or facilities remain outside the scope of oversight. Accordingly, we call for placing all nuclear capabilities and facilities in the region under the comprehensive safeguards of the International Atomic Energy Agency, in order to reduce the risks of tension and build regional confidence.

Third: Digital Security, Outer Space and Emerging Technologies
In the face of rapid technological development, we firmly call for preserving and protecting outer space as the common heritage of humankind, dedicated exclusively to peaceful uses, and for ensuring that it does not become a new arena for military confrontation.

We also stress the paramount importance of establishing binding international rules and agreed norms of behaviour to prevent the militarization of outer space, and to regulate the use of artificial intelligence technologies in the military domain, so as to ensure that these technologies do not escape the constraints of international law and international humanitarian law.

Mr. Chair,

The State of Libya has never confined itself to raising slogans or offering recommendations in this distinguished international forum. Rather, it presented the world with a practical, tangible and courageous model when it took its historic decision to voluntarily and fully relinquish its weapons of mass destruction programmes and equipment, and affirmed its commitment to the non-proliferation regime and to global peace.

Building on this legacy, and on our keenness to contribute actively to the maintenance of international peace and security, we wish to inform you of the candidacy of the State of Libya for non-permanent membership of the United Nations Security Council for the term 2028–2029, under the slogan: “Enshrining Justice for Peace and Security”.

Through this candidacy, we seek to give primacy to the peaceful settlement of disputes, to promote an inclusive approach to dialogue, and to represent the issues of our region, our African continent and developing countries with transparency, impartiality and a high sense of responsibility that leads to tangible results.

In conclusion, Mr. Chair,

We look forward, with sincere intentions, to this year’s session yielding practical recommendations and courageous decisions that strengthen regional and international stability and serve the aspirations of all our peoples towards a safer, more just and more peaceful world.

I wish the Committee every success.

Thank you, Mr. Chair.