On Saturday, the United Nations (UN) Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Libya, Ján Kubiš, was in Paris and held a series of meetings with high-level French officials. This was a part of his effort to rally the international community’s support for Libyans in their pursuit of peace, stability, unity and prosperity.
In a statement, the United National Support Mission to Libya (UNSMIL), said that Kubiš expressed his deep appreciation of the continuous support of President Emmanuel Macron and the French government for the UN’s efforts in Libya. He particularly emphasized the support for the three-track intra-Libyan dialogue, which emanated from the Berlin Conference on Libya.
The Head of UNSMIL had a conversation with the French Minister for Europe and Foreign Affairs, Jean-Yves Le Drian and with Emmanuel Bonne, the Diplomatic Advisor to the French President at the l’Elysée. He also met with the Political Director of Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Philippe Errera, who was accompanied by Director of North Africa and the Middle East, Christophe Farnaud, and the Director of the UN and International Organizations, Fabien Penone. He also had an interdepartmental meeting co-chaired by Special Envoy, Frederic Desagneaux.
During the talks, they applauded the historic unity meeting of the House of Representatives (HoR) that granted the vote of confidence to the government of Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbaiba. This event was also said to open the door to the transition to the new interim executive authority – the Presidency Council (PC) led by PC President Mohammed al-Mnifi and the government led by Prime Minister Dbaiba.
The parties appreciated the statement by Prime Minister Sarraj welcoming the vote of confidence by the HoR and expressing its readiness to hand over power. He again called upon all current Libya authorities and actors to show the same sense of responsibility and ensure a smooth, swift, and constructive handover of all competencies and authorities to the interim executive authority.
They also reconfirmed the importance of advancing the full implementation of the ceasefire agreement signed on the 23rd of October 2020. They reitereated the need of supporting the new interim unified executive authority, the PC and the government in their mission to unify Libya and its institutions, address the living conditions of the Libyan people, achieve reconciliation and transitional justice, and prepare the country for holding national elections. The elections are set to take place on the 24th of December 2021, as stipulated in the Libya Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) Roadmap.
Ways to promote the respect for the UN arms embargo and relevant Security Council resolutions and to assist the Libyans in expediting the departure of mercenaries were also the focus of the Special Envoy’s meetings with other French officials, Bernard Emié of the French General Directorate for External Security, and Martin Briens Chief of Staff to the Minister of Armed Forces of France.
Prior to his departure for Paris, the Special Envoy held a meeting in Geneva with the Foreign Minister of Greece, Nikos Dendias, accompanied by Greece’s Special Envoy for Libya and other high-level officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
They highly commended the unity session of the HOR and the vote of confidence to the Government of Prime Minister Dbaiba. Greece reconfirmed its firm support for the positive developments that are taking place in Libya and the UN’s efforts for peace, unity, and stability for the benefit of the Libyan people.
The Special Envoy also briefed Ambassadors and Representatives of countries accredited to Libya on the recent developments in the country and UNSMIL’s activities.