UN-backed Libya government announces plans to end crisis

Chairman of Libya’s Presidential Council in the internationally recognised Government of National Accord yesterday announced a seven-point initiative to resolve the crisis in his country.

Speaking at a press conference in Tripoli, Fayez Al-Sarraj said that since the beginning of its work and despite all the challenges, his government “has always believed that the resolution of the Libyan crisis will only be achieved through dialogue among the people of the homeland, and that this is the only way out of the crisis.”

The new initiative includes seven points, the first of which is “holding a Libyan forum in coordination with the UN mission, representing all national forces and society members who have political and social impacts.”

The second is “reaching an agreement during the forum on the road map for the next phase, and adopting the appropriate constitutional basis for holding concurrent presidential and parliamentary elections before the end of 2019.”

This point also includes “the designation of a specialised legal committee by the forum to draft laws on the entitlements to be agreed upon.”

The third point suggests that the aforementioned be followed by “the adoption of the laws on the constitutional and electoral process submitted by the designated Legal Committee with the determination of the dates of the entitlements and then submitting them to the Electoral Commission.”

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As for the fourth point of the initiative, it includes “the Forum’s call on the Security Council and the international community to support the agreement, whose outputs should be binding to all parties… The Forum would also call on the African Union and the European Union to provide the necessary support for the success of these entitlements.”

According to the initiative, the fifth point stipulates that this be followed by “the formation of committees from the current executive and security institutions in all regions, under the supervision of the United Nations, in order to ensure the provision of the necessary capabilities and resources for the electoral entitlements, including the necessary security arrangements for their success.”

The sixth point of the initiative stipulates “reaching an agreement through the forum on mechanisms to activate decentralised administration and the optimal use of financial resources and comprehensive development justice for all regions of Libya, while ensuring standards of transparency and good governance.”

The last point of the initiative states that “the Forum should result in the establishment of a supreme body for national reconciliation that would supervise and follow up the matter of national reconciliation, the activation of the transitional justice law and the amnesty law, and reparation except for those who committed war crimes or crimes against humanity.”

Since 4 April, Tripoli has been witnessing armed clashes following Brigadier General Khalifa Haftar’s launching of a military operation to take over the capital, amid widespread international condemnation.