2. Strengthen Governance and Institutions

The United States should look to facilitate

closer engagement between UNSMIL and the international community, acting as a convener and coordinator to reestablish regular “contact group” meetings with the SRSG (or his deputies) and the international community. The U.S. should play a key role here given its ability to convene other international actors and close links with senior

UNSMIL personnel. These meetings would offer an opportunity for UNSMIL to share information about its plans and improve the international community’s understanding of its approach. We heard that uncertainty among international actors over the SRSG’s long-term vision is one of the factors contributing to international disunity; increasing opportunities for informationsharing, discussion and engagement could be an effective tool in building international consensus around UNSMIL’s strategy.

2. STRENGTHEN GOVERNANCE AND INSTITUTIONS

2. i: Lobby UNSMIL to ensure that the constitutional referendum takes place before any national elections.

The United States supports the UN Roadmap; however, the revised plan presented by the SRSG to the Security Council on Nov 8 (and the renewed commitment agreed at Palermo) does not set out the sequencing of the electoral process. The United States should continue to support the SRSG’s National Dialogue process while encouraging the SRSG to clarify how the outcomes will be integrated into the electoral process. The National Dialogue offers an opportunity for Libyans to voice their opinions on how a future Libyan state will function, and the SRSG should

ensure that concrete recommendations are

incorporated into plans for elections. UNSMIL’s priority should be to ensure that the constitutional referendum takes place before any parliamentary or presidential elections. The SRSG has stated that elections should be

held in spring 2019 but has refrained from explicitly asserting the role of the constitution in underpinning such elections. The constitution as currently drafted is an imperfect document and leaves key questions of representation and power distribution illdefined. Nonetheless, these flaws could be

remedied through eventual amendments rather than by further delaying the referendum. By giving Libyans a voice in how power structures are crafted, a constitution could offer a useful pivot toward democratically endorsed legitimacy for Libya.