UNSMIL statement on the conclusion of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum in Switzerland – 28 June to 2 July 2021
3 July 2021 - At the request of the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) members, the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) facilitated a five-day in-person meeting of the LPDF in Switzerland from 28 June to 2 July 2021. The meeting aimed at addressing issues that remained unresolved when the LPDF held a virtual meeting in May 2021 to consider a proposal by its Legal Committee for a constitutional basis for national elections on 24 December 2021.
UNSMIL is grateful to the Governments of Switzerland for generously hosting this meeting and for providing logistical support at the venues as well as to the valuable support of the United Nations Development Programme and the UN Office at Geneva.
Ahead of the LPDF plenary meeting, UNSMIL convened the Advisory Committee of the LPDF in Tunis from 24 to 26 June to consider bridging proposals from various members of the LPDF and to provide recommendations for the plenary meeting. The plenary meeting in Switzerland discussed the bridging proposal put together by the Advisory Committee based on the proposal of the Legal Committee for a constitutional basis for national elections on 24 December 2021. Several members of the LPDF also developed three other proposals. Some of them were consistent with the Roadmap, some of them were not consistent with the Roadmap, and some sought to establish preconditions for arriving at the 24 December date.
The LPDF members have also formed a Proposals-Bridging-Committee to find a common ground and try to bridge the various proposals.
From the onset of this process, UNSMIL was committed to giving the members of the LPDF all the opportunities to reach a compromise, including extending the meeting for an extra day with the gracious and generous support of our host, the Swiss Government.
Despite all these opportunities, no consensus was reached among the LPDF members on a constitutional basis proposal.
UNSMIL encourages the LPDF members to continue to consult among themselves to pursue a workable compromise and cement what unites them. The Mission will continue to work with the LPDF members and the Proposals-Bridging-Committee to explore further efforts to build common ground based on the Legal Committee’s proposal which all recognize as the reference framework for a constitutional basis for elections. In line with the LPDF Roadmap and the UN Security Council Resolution 2570 (2021), UNSMIL reiterates that proposals that do not make the elections feasible and possible to hold elections on 24 December will not be entertained.
UNSMIL would like to thank members for their efforts, especially those who engaged actively in the work and tirelessly sought, until the last minute, a breakthrough allowing the LPDF to live up to its responsibilities and to the aspirations of the Libyan people. We would like to have a special thought for those members affected by COVID and who, yet, remained actively engaged in the debates and deliberations from their self-quarantine locations. The same goes for a UNSMIL staff member who had also tested positive. To all of them, we would like to express our wishes for speedy recovery and gratitude for their amazing work.