Panafrican News Agency

AU struggles for role in political settlement of Libyan crisis (News Analysis by Youssef Ba, PANA correspondent)

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Western countries' attempts to exclude the African Union (AU) from the process of seeking a political solution in Libya seem to overshadow the commitment of the African continental organisation to become more involved in the resolution of the crisis, given the impact of the situation in several countries in the region.

Yet the AU, tired of being increasingly marginalized in Libyan affairs, had established, at its 32nd Summit in Addis Ababa, an ambitious strategy to become more involved in settlement efforts.

Last February, African leaders adopted a plan to resolve the crisis in Libya with a roadmap including a reconciliation conference and elections.

But this plan could not be implemented because of the continuing insecurity resulting from the military offensive launched on 4 April by the head of the Libyan National Army (LNA), Marshal Khalifa Haftar, to take control of Tripoli.

The AU has always had a strong interest in Libya in the past and has in recently refined various mechanisms for discussing the situation. These include the group of six neighbouring countries - Algeria, Niger, Chad, Tunisia, Sudan and Egypt - the African Union High-Level Committee, and the Quartet on Libya made up of the AU, UN, Arab League and the European Union (EU).

The latest initiative of the African organization was to propose the appointment of a joint AU-UN envoy to develop a new plan taking into account the African vision for a resolution of the crisis in Libya.

This proposal has been refused by Western powers, who havd rejected calls to involve the AU in the search for a political solution in Libya, according to the AU Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ismail Chergui. 

This decision of Western countries to work alone in the search for a solution in Libya by marginalizing the African continent has been denounced by many African leaders who have highlighted the failure of these countries over the past 8 years to find a solution to the dual Libyan political and security crisis.

The attitude of Westerners to exclude the AU has continued to be reflected in preparatory meetings for the Berlin International Conference on Libya aimed at reaching a settlement through the meeting of the major powers of the Security Council.

Thus, the countries in the Libyan neighbourhood, namely Algeria, Chad, Tunisia, Niger, Niger and Sudan, have not been invited to participate in this conference, whose date has not yet been set.

Libyan political analyst, Abdelfettah Al-Ferjani, says that "this desire of Westerners to keep the African continent and the AU out of the Libyan scene is because of the enormous interests at stake, in particular, the abundant hydrocarbon resources in Libya".

Countries such as Egypt, Jordan, France, Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates support the LNA, while Qatar, Turkey and Italy support the troops loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA).

The UN Envoy to Libya, Ghassan Salamé, acknowledged that "the conflict in Libya is closely linked to foreign countries", stressing that the Libyan crisis can only be resolved by involving foreign countries.

It is in this context that he explained that the Berlin Conference will bring together the member countries of the Security Council, in addition to Germany, the country hosting the meeting and chairing the UN Sanctions Committee, as well as Italy, a former colonial power, Turkey, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, all deeply involved in Libyan affairs.

Some people have said that the African continent, embodied by the African Union, has itself chosen to move away from the Libyan crisis by refusing to get involved.

The Congolese Minister of Foreign Affairs, Jean-Claude Gakosso, whose country holds the current presidency of the AU High-Level Committee on Libya, cited Egypt as one of those delaying the resolution of the Libyan crisis, highlighting the paradox of Egypt as the country holding the current presidency of the African Union.

"Egypt has made it clear that it supports Marshal Haftar, while at the same time holding the current presidency of the African Union. It is judge and party and under these conditions, it is difficult to achieve results," he told the sixth Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa, which closed last Tuesday.

Aboubaker Al-Gmati, professor of political science and specialist on Africa, has added his voice to that of the Congolese foreign minister, saying that "the African Union's effort to help resolve the crisis in Libya has been significantly hampered since the accession of Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sissi to the AU's current presidency in January 2019".

He noted: "Al-Sissi has taken no initiative since he took over the rotating presidency of the AU to enhance the role of the continental organization in the Libyan case, nor to try to bring the belligerents together for a solution."

In July, at the African Continental Free Trade Agreement (AfCFT) launch summit in Niamey, Niger, President Al-Sissi refused to attend a meeting of the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya, preferring to be replaced by his Foreign Minister, Sameh Chokri.

For many observers, the Egyptian President, contrary to the commitments he made to his peers upon his accession to the current presidency of the AU, to work to advance conflict resolution, including the crisis in Libya, has done everything to marginalize the role of the continental organization in resolving the Libyan conflict.

-0- PANA BY/IS/SOC/MTA/MA 21Nov2019