The African Union Commissioner for Political Affairs, Peace and Security (AU-PAPS), Bankole Adeoye, announced the AU’s full support for the interim executive authorities in Libya. He also stressed the urgent need to withdraw mercenaries and foreign fighters from Libya. He explained that this is important for holding the elections on December 24th.
This came during talks held by the AU-PAPS, in Berlin, with German Foreign Minister, Heiko Maas, on the sidelines of the Berlin Conference II, where the meeting dealt with ways to strengthen relations with the European Union (EU).
On his official Twitter account, Adeoye said that the AU looks forward to building stronger and closer relations with the EU. He added that his discussions with Annette Weber, the newly appointed Special Representative of the EU for the Horn of Africa, were fruitful.
Notably, the Berlin Conference II on the 23rd of June, called for holding the national elections as scheduled on December 24th, 2021, and as agreed upon in the roadmap adopted by the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) in Tunisia in November 2020. It also stressed the need to adopt the necessary constitutional and legislative arrangements for holding the elections.
The participants of the Berlin Conference II also demanded the withdrawal of all foreign forces and mercenaries from Libya without delay, the reform of the security sector, and its placement under a unified civilian oversight authority.
The Berlin Conference II called for the need to ensure a fair and transparent allocation of resources throughout the country, to address violations and abuses of human rights, as well as violations of international humanitarian law. It also called for the start of a comprehensive national reconciliation process based on rights and transitional justice, in light of the continuation of the comprehensive Libyan-led dialogue.