UN says to launch international financial review of Libya’s divided central banks

The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) announced that an international financial review of the country’s divided central banks will be launched, after a recent request by UN-backed Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj.

“The international financial review process is a critical step toward enhancing transparency in the Libyan financial system and creating the conditions for the eventual unification of the CBL,” the UNSMIL said in a statement.

It is equally important to have an informed dialogue on the equitable distribution of national revenue in Libya and to re-establish national accountability mechanisms, the statement noted.

The UN mission also urged the immediate lifting of the blockade imposed by the east-based army on Libya’s oil facilities which is demanding transparency in the distribution of oil revenues.

According to the UN-backed government’s National Oil Corporation (NOC), Libya has lost nearly 7.5 billion U.S. dollars so far as a result of months of oil blockade.

“The NOC must be allowed to fully resume its operations for the benefit of all Libyans and the future of the country,” the UNSML statement said.

Libya has been suffering escalating violence and political division between rival eastern and western governments, which includes the two branches of the Central Bank of Libya.