Panafrican News Agency

International follow up committee on Libya urges Libyan belligerents to end military escalation in Sirte

Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - Members of the international follow up committee on Libya (IFCL) Monday expressed deep concern over the military escalation around Sirte, an official source said here.

They reaffirmed "their appeals to the Government of National Accord (GNA) and the Libyan National Army (LNA) to immediately stop all hostilities and military movements".

In a statement at the end of their third meeting, the IFCL urged all Libyan belligerents "to immediately conclude the ongoing negotiations within the joint 5+5 military commission in view to reach formal, complete and permanent ceasefire deal under the aegis of the United-Nations".

The meeting, held via videoconferencing, was co-chaired by the League of Arab States (LAS) represented by the deputy Secretary-General, Hossam Zaki, and the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) represented by the acting deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Stephanie Williams.

This followed the recent IFCL meeting on 13 May 2020 and co-chaired by Italy and UNSMIL.

The participants reiterated the need to deal, within the framework of the joint 5+5 military commission, with the detailed agreements on the repatriation of all foreign mercenaries, withdrawal of all foreign military forces, as well as the dismantling and disarmament of armed groups and militias across the country.

The participants also underlined the need for all members of the Berlin process to respect strictly their commitments and obligations as agreed at the Berlin conference and in accordance with the pertinent resolutions of the UN Security Council.

The IFCL deplored "the multiple persistent violations of the UN arm embargo", reaffirming "the need for all foreign actors to strictly respect their commitments to stop all forms of foreign military intervention in Libya, refrain from any destabilizing activity in the conflict and to fully respect the dispositions of the 1970 Resolution of the UN Security Council and all pertinent resolutions of the UN Security Council".

They also discussed and shared views on the different efforts and initiatives aiming to resume an inclusive political process and complete the transition in Libya.

They touched on the initiative of the chairman of the Libyan House of Representative (Parliament), the Cairo Declaration, the proposal of presidential council chairman, Fayez al-Sarraj, and the urgent appeals to prepare for national elections.

The IFCL members underlined the need to continue examining these different initiatives and proposals within the framework of an inclusive process led by Libyans and encouraged UNSMIL to continue promoting those discussions within the Forum for the Libyan political dialogue launched in Geneva in February 2020.

The participants also recognized "the need for action plan to hold free, fair and credible elections in a bid to conclude the transition in Libya".

They also said they were "committed to support that objective which can be attained only in an appropriate political and security environment, and accordance with the required judicial conditions, constitutional and electoral framework, and once all parties and stakeholders engage in advance to respect and get respected its outcomes".

The IFCL members deplored "the information on the generalized human rights violations, particularly the discovery of mass graves in Tarhouna and its nearby zones”.

They again deplored the “presence of mines and explosive engines in zones previously under control of the Libyan National Army", saying the perpetrators must be held accountable and brought before the courts.

In addition, the IFCL members, worried with the deterioration of humanitarian and economic conditions, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, urged the Libyan authorities to take all measures to guarantee an access without blockade for the UN humanitarian staff.  

Participants underlined the need to resume oil productions under the aegis of the Libyan National Oil Company, reaffirming their appeal for transparent and fair sharing of resources.

They underlined the importance to restore the integrity, unity and legal governance of all Libyan sovereign institutions. 

The participants reviewed all progress made so far in the application of the deals arrived at the Berlin Conference held on 19 January, and the efforts of the IFCL for the support of a global, durable and peaceful resolution of the conflict under the aegis of the United-Nations, which preserves Libya’s sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity and national unity.

They also welcomed the progress made by the four IFCL thematic technical working groups, dealing with security, humanitarian, economic and international law/human rights issues within the framework of implementation of the conclusions from the Berlin Conference.

The participants said they were waiting with interest for the next IFCL meeting to be held in July under the co-presidency of the European Union and UNSMIL.

    

-0-    PANA     BY/TBM/MSA/RA    22Jun2020