Turkey, the best offender to the United Nations sanctions in Libya, to hide the military role as an aid to the police

Abdullah Bozkurt / Stockholm

A newly introduced bilateral agreement between Turkey and Libya, allegedly designed to improve the cooperation of the police, suspects suspicion of being a strategic decision to camouflage the ongoing military of Turkey in Libya.

This agreement positions Turkey, a country already at the forefront of the violation of UN sanctions in Libya, as more deeply involved and rooted in military actions in the North African country under the pretext of strengthening the capacities of the police.

The agreement, formalized as a memorandum of understanding (Mou), was submitted to the Turkish parliament for debate and to the probable approval on March 25. Initially signed in October 2024, the memorandum of understanding, aims to promote collaboration in several areas, including the protection of public orders, efforts to combat the field, border management, election safety and the fight against medication and arms trafficking.

In addition, it extends to maritime security, irregular control of migration and VIP protection. The document also describes the procedural mechanisms for intelligence sharing, staff exchanges, capacity building programs and the creation of specialized training centers to improve the capacity to apply the two nations law.

However, this initiative seems to be a calculated attempt by the government of Islamist President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to reframe controversial military training programs in Libya.

The UN has documented in detail Turkey’s violations of the sanctions of the United Nations Security Council while offering military training programs to Libya:

Turkey_military_training_libya_un1

The UN has repeatedly reported Turkey for violating sanctions by providing military training to the factions in Libya aligned on Turkish interests. These operations are now renamed as a collaboration of the police in order to escape the control of the United Nations sanctions regime.

According to a report submitted to the United Nations Security Council on December 6, 2024, Turkey committed 14 violations of the sanctions regime between December 2022 and August 2024, mainly linked to military training in defiance of arms embargo.

Turkey defended these actions, saying that they were carried out under the previous prorators signed in April 2012 and November 2019. The panel of United Nations experts said that such training, including that carried out outside Libya, constitutes a violation of the 1970 (2011) Security Council resolution (2011), which prohibits military assistance.

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was sent to Parliament, requesting the ratification of the memorandum of understanding on the cooperation of the police between Turkey and Libya:

ERDOGAN_LETTER_PARLIAMEN_MOU_LINBYA_LAW_ENFORCEMENT

With the new memorandum of understanding, Turkey aims to redirect its training programs under the aegis of cooperation in the application of the law, effectively avoiding international sanctions. The United Nations sanctions against Libya allow certain exemptions for training programs to strengthen the capacities of the police, provided that they are directly linked to the humanitarian needs of the country, such as civil protection, humanitarian aid delivery or the fight against human trafficking.

This last memorandum of understanding between the government of Erdogan and the Libyical Government of National Unity (GNU) seeks to exploit these exemptions. The wording of cooperation areas in the understanding protocol carefully reflects the language used in the United Nations sanctions regime, emphasizing the improvement of public order, the fight against terrorism, border control and election security.

In addition, the document describes the provisions of joint maritime security, migration control and VIP protection efforts all areas that are particularly likely to be considered as law enforcement rather than military operations.

The United Nations report listed Turkey’s violations in military training programs in Libya:

Turkey_military_training_libya_un2

The agreement, which should remain in force for five years with automatic renewals, except termination, also specifies that Turkish training teams will be deployed in law enforcement organizations in Libya as needed. These teams, made up of expert trainers, will offer training in accordance with the specific content, the location and the number of trainees involved.

A secret clause included in the memorandum of understanding restricts information sharing with third parties without the explicit written consent of Turkey and Libya, throwing a wide confidentiality net on training programs, their content and their scope.

The turkeys do not respond to the UN surveys on its violations still complicates the situation. Between November 2023 and October 2024, the UN sent 15 letters to Turkey asking for clarification on alleged violations. Turkey only responded to five of these letters, remaining silent on others.

The violations of turkeys extend beyond military training. Over the years, he has been involved in sending sophisticated weapons, military personnel and information to the factions in Libya, as well as to deploy Syrian mercenaries. The United Nations experts have feared that these actions are undergoing efforts to stabilize the country and have wider implications for regional security.

The Libyan civil war, ignited by the ousted ousted by NATO of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, created a void of power that various factions fought to fill. Despite the creation of a government of unity in 2015 under the United Nations mediation, the country remained prey to political instability and military conflicts.

International actors, including the UN and the European Union, as well as the regional powers such as Egypt, have expressed serious concerns concerning participation in turkey in Libya. Despite the conviction by the United Nations Security Council for violations and foreign interventions, it did not take into account Turkey, leaving the international community largely helpless by attacking the current crisis in Libya.