Libya's UN delegate urges AU to support national reconciliation

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Libya's Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Taher al-Sunni, has called on the African Union (AU) to support Libyan national reconciliation.

In an address to the Security Council, during a session devoted on Thursday evening to the situation in Libya, Mr. al-Sunni said that the real problem in Libya "lies in the continuation of negative international interventions, the division of this (Security) Council and the treatment of Libya as an arena for settling scores by proxy".

He said that the various dialogues will remain the only way to find peaceful solutions to the Libyan crisis, far from the fighting and the noise of cannons.

Mr. al-Sunni welcomed the recent change in the position of several countries and their demonstration of good will in reaching out to all Libyans, far from fuelling the conflict or supporting it.

He paid tribute to those who have put forward initiatives to unite Libyans, particularly Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria and Morocco.

"These efforts coincide with our vision that a peaceful option is the only way to resolve the crisis and build the civil democratic state to which Libyans aspire. From this point of view, and in recognition of this objective, we have welcomed the work of the Joint Military Commission to achieve a permanent ceasefire," Mr. al-Sunnisaid.

He said that the implementation of the provisions of the ceasefire agreement of the Joint Military Commission depends above all on the strengthening and establishment of trust and good intentions, noting that this trust was lost due to the events in Tripoli and its surroundings, despite all international guarantees and promises.

He stressed that the demand for the departure of foreign forces, mercenaries and armed groups of all kinds, and of those that do not fall under the legitimacy of the State, "is a sovereign and national demand that has no reproach and must be associated with their disarmament".

Mr. al-Sunni also called on the Security Council to make efforts to adopt a new resolution in a manner that strongly supports the ceasefire agreement, so that it is sustainable and based on solid foundations.

He reiterated the support of the Government of National Accord (GNA) for the Libyan political dialogue, the Forum and other dialogues despite reservations.

The Libyan delegate stressed the need for all these dialogues to be inclusive and non-adversarial and to strive for comprehensive and workable political consensus solutions, not based on the principle of conquest, exclusion and misrepresentation, and to avoid repeating the same mistakes of the past.

Mr al-Sunni stressed that the national reconciliation dialogue will be the real guarantee of the sustainability of all the results and the adoption of a permanent constitution for the country.

He said that the problem in Libya is not power-sharing or who holds the posts.

"The real problem is that the wounds have not healed since 2011, so the solution must start from the bottom up by strengthening social peace.

He called on the African Union to immediately sponsor the path of national reconciliation and not wait for permission because Africa is the only one that can play this role, because of its previous experiences and its knowledge of the Libyan issue and its specificity.

Mr. al-Sunni called on the UN Mission to correct, at the next meeting in Geneva, the timetable of the previously agreed roadmap, as it sets 18 months as the term of the mandate of the new authority, which contradicts the number of months remaining until the end of this year.

It should ask for a written commitment from the candidates to hold the elections on the scheduled date of 24 December.

Mr. al-Sunni also said considered that elections alone will not solve the Libyan crisis, and the proliferation of arms, armed groups and foreign interference is one of the most important obstacles to stability.

However, they are the beginning and the best way to establish the rules of the democratic path and restore the legitimacy of the people so that these and other challenges can be confronted.

-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/MA 29Jan2021