UN, partners meet on Saturday in Tunis on the Libyan crisis

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Officials of the United Nations (UN), led by Secretary-General, Antonio Guterres, the League of Arab States, the African Union (AU) and the European Union (EU), meet this Saturday in Tunisian capital, Tunis, on the Libyan issue.

 

According to official reports, the quartet is meeting to renew support for the action plan of the head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Ghassan Salamé, aimed at finding a political solution in Libya.

 

The meeting is being held on the margins of the 31st Summit of the Member States of the Arab League, dominated by the Libyan issue.

 

Officials at the meeting include the UN Secretary-General, Guterres, the Secretary-General of the League of Arab States, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Federica Mogherini, the Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki, and the United Nations Envoy in Libya, Salamé.

 

On Friday, the foreign affairs ministers of Egypt, Sameh Chokry, of Algeria, Ramtane Lamamra, of Tunisia, Khemaies Jhinaoui and of Libya, Mohamed Siala, held a meeting in Tunis, attended by Salamé, on ways to find a solution to the Libyan crisis.

 

The Libyan political process has recently taken a turn for success following the announcement by Mr. Salamé of the holding of the inclusive national conference scheduled to be held from 14 to 16 April in the city of Ghadamès, a Libyan Oasis, located southeast of the  country.

 

As the cornerstone of the action plan, this conference, which will be attended by between 120 and 150 Libyan personalities representing the various spectra and components of the Libyan society, must generate consensus among them on a calendar for general elections and adopt provisions and mechanisms on outstanding issues to overcome obstacles and other legal vacuums.

 

The exit from the deadlock in the political process took place on 27 February after the meeting which brought together the president of the presidential council, Fayez Al-Sarraj, and the head of the Libyan national army, Marshal Khalifa Haftar in Dubai, the Arab Emirates United, under the auspices of Salamé.

 

These two main protagonists agreed to end the transitional period that has lasted long enough, and hold general elections before late 2019 and to unify the institutions of the Libyan State, emphasizing the State's civilian character of the State and the peaceful alternation in power.

 

The meeting in Dubai has led to some positive political process, giving a new hope that Libya will soon exit the circle of violence through a political settlement to the crisis.

 

For example, the UN Security Council expressed its full support for Salamé's action plan and UNSMIL's efforts to find a solution in Libya, urging Libyans to seize the opportunity to bring peace and stability to their country.

 

The African Union has, since its 32nd ordinary Summit in Addis Ababa in February, decided to become more involved in the search for a solution in Libya by being associated with the efforts of the United Nations.

 

Close coordination was established between the AU and the United Nations that led to a joint roadmap.

 

The European Union also expressed its support for Mr. Salamé, calling on the Libyan protagonists to join in the dynamism of a negotiated solution and a lasting settlement in the country.

 

As for the Arab League, a request was made by the UN envoy to Libya, who, during his speech at the meeting of Arab foreign affairs ministers, said that he had come to seek a common and unified position of the Arab countries on an unwavering support for his action plan.

 

He stressed the need for the Arab countries to take a unified position to support the political process in Libya, so as not to allow any Libyan party not to participate in the inclusive national conference.

 

The Arab leaders, whose Summit begins on Sunday in Tunis, will have to confirm this trend by providing unwavering support to the United Nations efforts in Libya for a political settlement of the crisis.

-0- PANA BY/JSG/BBA/VAO 30March2019