UN-facilitated Libyan political dialogue set to resume in Geneva

Libyan stakeholders will return to Geneva this week for a new round of United Nations-facilitated dialogue aimed at resolving the war-torn country's longstanding political crisis, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) has announced.

“UNSMIL appeals to all the Libyan parties and invited participants to approach these talks aimed at ending Libya's political and security crisis in a spirit of openness and reconciliation that is guided by the higher national interest of the Libyan people,” the UN Mission declared in a statement issued earlier today.

The first round of talks took place last week at the Palais des Nations with stakeholders expressing their unequivocal commitment to a united and democratic Libya governed by the rule of law and respect for human rights.

During the meetings, participants agreed an agenda aiming to reach a political agreement to form a consensual national unity government while also making security arrangements necessary to end fighting and ensure the withdrawal of armed groups from Libyan cities. There was also a call for confidence-building measures to safeguard Libya's national unity and to alleviate the population's suffering.

In addition to the main political track established during last week's dialogue, another meeting later this week will bring together municipal and local council representatives from cities and towns across North African country to discuss confidence building measures and ways to implement them, the statement continued.

UNSMIL explained that it planned to convene a number of other tracks at a later stage which would include representatives from Libyan political parties, social and tribal forces, as well as the armed groups.