Libyan Peace Talks Threatened By Allegations That The U.A.E. Violated The U.N. Arms Embargo While Offering A Highly Paid Job To The U.N. Negotiator

Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya and Head of United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Bernardino Leon gestures during a news conference after a meeting at the Palais des Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, September 4, 2015. Reuters/Denis Balibouse

New York Times: Leaked Emirati Emails Could Threaten Peace Talks in Libya

CAIRO — The United Arab Emirates was shipping weapons to favored belligerents in Libya over the summer in violation of an international arms embargo while simultaneously offering a highly paid job to the United Nations diplomat drafting a peace accord there, leaked Emirati emails show.

The leaked correspondence is threatening to undermine months of Libyan talks by tarring the diplomat with an apparent conflict of interest. The emails also open a new window into the hidden and contradictory machinations of regional players like the United Arab Emirates that have helped inflame the fighting even as their diplomats say they support a peaceful solution.

“The fact of the matter is that the U.A.E. violated the U.N. Security Council Resolution on Libya and continues to do so,” Ahmed al-Qasimi, a senior Emirati diplomat, wrote in an email on Aug. 4 to Lana Nusseibeh, the United Arab Emirates’ ambassador to the United Nations.

Update: U.N. wants clarification of report UAE broke Libya arms embargo (Reuters)

WNU Editor: What caught my eye in this story is the report that while the U.A.E. was shipping weapons to its favored belligerents in Libya over the summer in violation of an international arms embargo, it was also offering at the same time a highly paid job to the United Nations diplomat drafting a peace accord there. Being one who worked for the U.N. for 4 years, what U.N. diplomat Bernardino Leon did is a clear conflict of interest. He violated his role of being a neutral mediator .... and if the U.N. wants to salvage this peace process, they should fire him right away.