Libya: UN envoy urges endorsement of political agreement as way forward for ‘peace in unity’
Peace and Security
The top United Nations official in Libya has emphasized that the political agreement reached after wide consultations among Libyan parties and facilitated by the UN for more than a year, is the basis to end the North African country’s conflict.
“The country needs peace in unity, it is divided now,” Special Representative of the Secretary-General and head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Martin Kobler told Aljazeera International on 6 December.
The Agreement is supported by the majorities of both House of Representatives and the General National Congress.
According to UNMSIL, Mr. Kobler urged even those who still opposed the Agreement to support it as an opening to unite the country, fight the scourge of terrorism and address the deteriorating economic situation in Libya.
“It is now time for a rapid endorsement of the Libyan Political Agreement. The train has left the station,” said the UN envoy.
An upcoming global conference in Rome aimed to unify Libya will be co-chaired by Italy, the United States and the UN and server as an opportunity to demonstrate the determination of the international community on the way forward on the basis of the Political 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 former Special Representative for Libya, Bernardino León, it was announced in mid-October that a national unity government could be proposed. The names of candidates for the government's top council were put forward but the deal stalled when some parties failed to sign off.