Tripoli, 21 February 2014 – The Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Libya (SRSG), Tarek Mitri, met on Thursday 20 February with the Chairman of the High National Elections Commission (HNEC), Mr. Nouri Al-Abar. He congratulated Mr. Al-Abar on the efforts made by the Commission and praised the solid organization of the Constitution-Drafting Assembly elections.

The SRSG also visited a number of polling stations. Mr. Mitri stressed that the process of drafting a constitution is the main block in the new State that all Libyans should participate in building.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General met on Wednesday 19 February with members of the Foreign Affairs, Interior, National Security and Defence Committees of the General National Congress to explain the efforts made recently by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) to ease political tensions and the need to resort to dialogue over the logic of force and arms.

The SRSG affirmed in this meeting that UNSMIL's primary goal is to offer support to the Libyan people. He reiterated the Mission's neutrality, its respect for national sovereignty and the policy of non-interference in the internal affairs of Libya. Mr. Mitri stressed UNSMIL's firm position on supporting the legitimacy of the elected institutions and the role of these institutions in ensuring the transfer of power to an elected body to prevent any constitutional vacuum.

The Special Representative of the Secretary-General stressed that force should not be used to settle political differences, and explained that the Mission did not present any initiative or propose any time limit. He gave a detailed account of UNSMIL's efforts in recent months to facilitate the convening of a series of consultative meetings of various political forces for the purpose of reaching an agreement that serves the democratic transition path and the interest of the Libyan people.