AU supports reconciliation conference in Libya
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The 33rd summit of the African Union (AU), held on 9 and 10 February in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, affirmed the African Organization's support for the holding of a Reconciliation Conference among Libyans to strengthen the ceasefire and start a political dialogue.
Congolese President Denis Sassou-Nguesso, chairman of the African Union High-Level Committee on Libya, announced on Sunday, on the sidelines of the 33rd Summit, the need to hold an inclusive Libyan National Reconciliation Conference, stressing the "comprehensive and inclusive nature of the conference which will bring together tribal dignitaries, political parties, youth and women's organizations and Gaddafi's supporters".
The African leaders stressed, in their final Declaration reported on Tuesday by Libyan newspapers, their support for the resolution of the Libyan crisis through dialogue and their rejection of outside interventions that undermine the political process in this North African country.
The Declaration called for a more vital and effective role for the African Union in mediating the continent's conflicts, particularly the Libyan issue, which they said they were largely excluded from.
African leaders stressed the need to involve them in the resolution of the Libyan crisis, through a permanent office of the Union working alongside the United Nations in Tripoli, in addition to the announcement of the meeting of the Preparatory Committee on Libya on reconciliation in the Congo next March.
The African Union Commissioner for Peace and Security, Ismail Chargui, said the UN in Libya needs the African Union, adding that the Libyan problem is an African problem.
For his part, AU Commission Chairperson Moussa Faki Mahamat noted at the summit the sensitivity of the African position, given the link between insecurity in Libya and the rise of jihadist groups in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso in recent years.
He added that the Union needed all international partners to resolve the Libyan crisis, in his speech at the opening activities of the 33rd AU Summit, at the leadership level, under the theme: "Silencing the guns and creating conditions conducive to Africa's development".
In the same context, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, urged the Union to act as a unified entity to end the war in Libya and to strengthen cooperation to address the situation in the country.
On Saturday, the African Union Peace and Security Commission held a summit on Libya and the Sahel in Addis Ababa to discuss stabilizing the ceasefire, implementing the arms embargo and stopping foreign interference, as well as sending African observers.
The African Union High-Level Committee on Libya had previously called, on 30 January, for the need to achieve a comprehensive ceasefire, proposing the establishment of a monitoring mechanism to be implemented by the Union, as well as the deployment of military observers for that task if the necessary conditions are met.
The proposal of the AU Committee on Libya is based on the deployment of military observers in cooperation with the Libyan parties signatories to the ceasefire agreement, subsequently calling for the reopening of the oil sites in order to enable the Libyan people to take full advantage of its resources.
-0- PANA BY/BEH/MTA/VAO 11Feb2020
