UNSMIL Calls on Libyan Political Stakeholders to Redouble Efforts to Reach Agreement to Form GNA

2 Nov 2015

UNSMIL Calls on Libyan Political Stakeholders to Redouble Efforts to Reach Agreement to Form GNA

UNSMIL Calls on Libyan Political Stakeholders to Redouble Efforts to Reach Agreement to Form Government of National Accord

2 November 2015 – The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) calls on the main political stakeholders in Libya to redouble their efforts in bringing the Libyan political dialogue process to a successful conclusion that would allow for an agreement to form the much anticipated Government of National Accord and for the resumption of Libya’s democratic transition.

Immediately after the conclusion of the Libyan Political Dialogue, UNSMIL transmitted on 11 October the Libyan Political Agreement to the main political stakeholders for their endorsement. Following this, the Mission has undertaken extensive consultations with parties across the Libyan political spectrum on ways of addressing some of the concerns with respect to the configuration of the Presidency Council, especially those related to fair and adequate representation for the east, more specifically Benghazi. These are primarily focused on the need for a formula that safeguards Libya’s historical traditions of geographical and regional balance and representation.

All parties were in consensus regarding the legitimacy of these demands, and the need to expand the configuration of the Presidency Council from six to nine, to include the Prime Minister, five Deputy Prime Ministers, and three senior ministers.

While underscoring the need to reflect this newly proposed revision of the Presidency Council in the text of the Libyan Political Agreement, all parties recognised that the successful implementation of this reconfiguration would require an increased level of cooperation and partnership among members of the Presidency Council, mainly between the Prime Minister and his deputies, but also including the larger group forming the Presidency Council. Parties also stressed that this would inevitably need to be reflected in provisions governing the decision-making process in the Presidency Council.