UN calls on Libyan political stakeholders to redouble efforts to reach agreement

Libya has been plagued by factional fighting since the 2011 revolution, with the situation continuing to deteriorate in recent months amid significant political fragmentation and violence.

Following broad consultations facilitated by the Secretary-General’s Special Representative and head of UNSMIL, Bernardino León, it was announced in mid-October that a national unity government could be proposed.

In a statement issued today, the Mission recalled that immediately after the conclusion of the dialogue, it transmitted the Libyan Political Agreement to the main stakeholders for their endorsement.

“Following this, the Mission has undertaken extensive consultations with parties across the Libyan political spectrum on ways of addressing some of the concerns with respect to the configuration of the Presidency Council, especially those related to fair and adequate representation for the east, more specifically Benghazi,” the statement noted.

“These are primarily focused on the need for a formula that safeguards Libya’s historical traditions of geographical and regional balance and representation,” it continued.

Meanwhile, UNSMIL also underlined that all parties were in consensus regarding the legitimacy of these demands, and the need to expand the configuration of the Presidency Council from six to nine, to include the Prime Minister, five Deputy Prime Ministers, and three senior ministers.

“While underscoring the need to reflect this newly proposed revision of the Presidency Council in the text of the Libyan Political Agreement, all parties recognised that the successful implementation of this reconfiguration would require an increased level of cooperation and partnership among members of the Presidency Council, mainly between the Prime Minister and his deputies, but also including the larger group forming the Presidency Council,” the statement explained.

According to UNSMIL, parties also stressed that this would inevitably need to be reflected in provisions governing the decision-making process in the Presidency Council.

Source: UNSMIL