Skhirat, Morocco, Friday 28 August 2015 - We have finished the morning session. We will continue to work in the afternoon. We are working in good spirits. This is a transition meeting, as you know we are planning to have more meetings in the following days.

But it is not one more meeting, I would like to enhance that the spirit in which we are working now is that we have to expedite and we have to envisage finalizing our work in the coming two weeks. This commitment that I explained when we opened our discussions in Geneva is still there. We have some difficulties. You are all aware of the changes in the composition of the delegation from the GNC. So, they are restructuring their team but their message is that they will continue to participate in the talks next week. We hope it will be possible to complete the agenda in the coming two weeks.

Today, we have been discussing and finalizing, outlining the final texts of Annex No. 2 and 4 - Government Guidelines and Financial Stability Guidelines. We have now two texts which are practically practically final. We still have remarks from the GNC to come, as with other remarks. But Basically these two texts are now quite well outlined. We will start discussions and exchanges of views in the afternoon on the other two annexes we have today on our agenda – State Council on the one hand and amendments to the Constitutional Declaration on the other.

This will allow also to expedite discussions on these two annexes to finalize next week. We have equally detailed discussion on the mechanism we will use when we will start discussing names next week. I have again reiterated that we will follow the system of the European Union, having and allowing everyone to participate to discuss these points, starting obviously with the HoR and the GNC participants and then expanding the discussion to others. There is also general consensus on this point. So still positive and hopeful that this discussion will continue to make progress positive.

Let me say that beyond our meetings, the situation in Libya is becoming more difficult, the situation in Libya because of the crisis of migration, which is now claiming so many lives. It is really a matter of concern for the international community. I had to the opportunity to talk couple of days ago to minister Gentiloni. He told me that in just one day they have rescued more than 4,000 people at sea. So, the situation is becoming a huge concern. So many lives, so many young people, so many hopes lost at sea. It’s another reason to expedite our work.
Same things about terrorism. We have seen the fighting in central Libya, in the region of Sirte, becoming more and more difficult. And we have commented many times in the past on the situation in Benghazi and in the South. So, all in all the message has to be very strong, ‘We have to finish this and we have to finish it now’.

Question: … will there be any future for General Haftar in any future government … 21 September deadline for agreement to be signed?

LEON: On the first, I can tell only you we are only working on the basis of consensus and on the basis of consensual personalities for all the positions, the key positions in the government. This government will have to propose names for the different ministers and then for the high positions both in the civilian administration and in the army. This is the principle we are working on. Once we have a wider discussion and hopefully a decision on the leadership of the government I thijnk we should liskten to them and to their views on this point.

At this early stage as a United Nations Mission I cannot answer because all Libyans might agree on specific personalities, wherever can be, I prefer not to mention specific names but this is something that has to be decided by all the Libyans, without impositions, through consensus. This is the principle.

Second question, we have three important reasons about this deadline. The first one is that if the agreement is finalized and signed by the 20th of September, by the 20th of October the new unity government will be ready to start operating. We will not have a vacuum in Libya, and this is very important. There are rumours, comments about alternatives, military councils, all this is absolutely unacceptable for the international community and for the Libyans. So, there can be no vacuum in the civilian and democratic institutions, and this is the main reason. There are other reasons, too. First, we have the Haj season starting now, between the 15th and 20th of September, and we will have equally the General Assembly of the United Nations starting also the last week of September, which will be a great opportunity for the international community to endorse and support. (It is) the most important appointment the international community has every year, and I think for Libya it is a great opportunity. So if you put all these reasons together this is what explains the strength in which UNSMIL is conveying to the parties that this is the moment to finish.

Question: … GNC will come …?

LEON: Hopefully all the participants are invited to come with names next week. We know that the HoR is having a session to decide on names next Sunday and we hope the rest of the participants will prepare themselves and come with names next week. Obviously, this is to their advantage because they would be engaging in the participation in full. If someone doesn’t bring names it means that the names that will be discussed are the others. And I don’t think it makes sense for an institution that would like to play a relevant and influential role in Libya not to bring names. So I hope that all the participants will bring names and we will have an open and fruitful discussion.