UN urges Libyans to build an inclusive political process

The U.N. Security Council endorsed a U.N. action plan Tuesday to break the political stalemate in Libya that has divided the country into competing governments with two parliaments and an array of rival militias. A presidential statement approved by all 15 members backs the proposal by new U.N. envoy, Ghassan Salame, to amend the U.N. peace agreement signed by different Libyan factions in 2015.

It also welcomes Salame's objective of supporting a Libyan-led transition that will lead to the establishment of a "stable, unified, representative and effective" government. Libya fell into chaos after the ouster and killing of its longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.The country's divisions have empowered hundreds of militias to become the real power on the ground where human trafficking, fuel smuggling and terrorists have also thrived.

But in late July, President Fayez Sarraj of Libya's internationally recognized unity government in the west and eastern military leader Gen. Khalifa Haftar met in Paris and committed to a cease-fire. They also agreed to work toward presidential and parliamentary elections and to find a roadmap for securing the lawless country against terrorism and trafficking.

Libya's parliament, which was elected in 2014, has refused to give its vote of confidence to the government headed by Serraj. It insisted on amending a divisive article in the 2015 peace agreement which keeps the command of the army under the parliament instead of giving it to Serraj. Salame has proposed amendments to the peace agreement.

Last month, U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres called Libya the top priority for mediation, saying he believes "progress can be made in the short term." He appealed to all countries with influence in Libya and all Libyans "to seize this opportunity and to be able to overcome the divisions and move in the direction of a solution."

The Security Council strongly urged all Libyans "to work together in a spirit of compromise and to engage constructively in the inclusive political process" set out in Salame's plan. The council also reaffirmed that the 2015 peace agreement "remains the only viable framework to end the Libyan political crisis."

On the other hand, the moves to amend the Libyan Political Agreement by the dialogue committees of the House of Representatives and the State Council as well as bilateral relations were the main subjects in talks today, Tuesday, between the head of the Presidency Council (PC), Faiez Serraj, and German Ambassador Christian Buck. Confirming the German government’s support for the PC’s government of national accord as well as the action plan presented last month by UN special envoy Ghassan Salamé, the ambassador also said that Germany wanted to further develop relations and also provide Libya with help to overcome the present crisis, according to the PC’s media office.

Picking up on the last point, Serraj asked that services and infrastructure programmes previously discussed between the two sides be speeded up. Buck then flew to Benghazi for talks on the crisis with the head of the Libyan National Army, Field Marshal Khalifa Hafter.

Germany has been providing significant financial support to a number of programmes in Libya, and is Libya’s largest bilateral donor. It has given over $10 million to the UNDP’s Libya Stabilization Facility, which is supporting projects in Benghazi, Kikla, Obari, Sebha and Sirte – five times the amount provided by Italy, the UK or the Netherlands and more than twice that by the US. Numerous other projects have benefitted from German funding.