The Special Representative of the Secretary-General and the Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Abdoulaye Bathily, said that "the Derna disaster revealed a severe governance deficit" in Libya, including with regard to the maintenance of dam systems, resource management, the existence of an effective mechanism to deal with natural disasters and the absence of unified political decision-making at the national level.

In his regular briefing on developments in Libya to the UN Security Council on Monday, Bathily confirmed that UN agencies had carried out an "initial assessment of the damage, needs and everything required for the next phase" in flood-stricken areas.

He expressed concern to the UN Security Council about the continued increase of political division and its impact on the reconstruction of Derna and surrounding areas, noting that Libyan leaders "continue to demonstrate competition over which entity exercises exclusive authority over reconstruction efforts in the east and west."

He added that the UN mission called for the establishment of a unified national platform to assess the extent of damage and reconstruction costs, although most of the costs in this upcoming operation will be borne by the national authorities in Libya, warning that continued competition between Libyan leaders would frustrate the residents of Derna.