The United Nations Panel of Experts on Libya stated that the 5+5 Joint Military Commission lacks the “necessary authority and influence” to oversee substantive steps toward the reunification of Libya’s security and military institutions.

In its latest draft report covering the period from October 2024 to February 2026, the panel added that the chiefs of staff in both western and eastern Libya continued to play largely symbolic roles, limited to “enforcing the ceasefire without making any significant progress toward unifying military institutions.”

It stated that the commission’s work “remained limited to monitoring arrangements related to the ceasefire agreement, and no tangible progress was made toward establishing a unified joint military force.” It noted that the death of the former Chief of General Staff, Major General Mohamed Al-Haddad, significantly impacted the committee’s work.

No Significant Progress

The report, a copy of which was reviewed by Alwasat explained that “the chiefs of staff of the military forces in eastern and western Libya played largely symbolic roles and lacked the authority and influence necessary to oversee or enforce substantive steps toward military reunification.”

It added: "The situation was exacerbated by the appointment of Major General Khalid Haftar as Chief of Staff in eastern Libya and the death of the former Chief of General Staff, Major General Mohamed Al-Haddad. These developments have limited the Chiefs of Staff’s ability to play an effective coordinating role in any reunification process.”

It noted that “members of the Joint Military Commission considered that it would be difficult to achieve any progress toward unifying military institutions without political unity. This assessment has constrained the Commission’s role.”

The panel noted what it described as “growing interest among Libyan actors in establishing joint military or security bodies, driven by expectations that progress toward joint structures would facilitate the gradual easing of arms embargo restrictions.” At the same time, it revealed “efforts to explore alternative or parallel formats to encourage the reunification of the army outside the framework of the Joint Military Commission.”