On Wednesday, the UN Secretary-General’s Special Adviser on Libya (SASG), Stephanie Williams stressed the importance of ensuring that stability and calm are maintained in Libya. This came during her Presidency of the plenary session of the Security Working Group for Libya in Tunisia.
All members of Libya’s 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) participated in the meeting, which was co-chaired by the United Kingdom, Turkey, Italy, and the African Union.
“In Tunis, I co-chaired, in collaboration with France, a Security Working Group (SWG) plenary meeting for Libya,” Williams tweeted.
“We were joined by the entirety of the JMC 5+5, as well as other co-chairs, the UK, Turkey, Italy, and the AU, for a valuable discussion on ceasefire monitoring, disarmament and demobilization, and the way forward on the JMC 5+5’s work, she added.
Williams stressed the importance of ensuring that stability is maintained, and that calm is preserved on the ground. She also congratulated the JMC on the work it has done so far.
The SASG met with several senior government officials. “I am grateful to all of them for their support for the holding of elections as soon as possible. On the basis of a solid, consensual constitutional framework, for the sake of fulfilling the aspirations of the Libyan people to vote for their representatives,” she said.
“We discussed ceasefire monitoring, disarmament and demobilization, and the way forward on the JMC 5+5’s work,” Williams noted.
Libya has had two competing governments since March, when the eastern-based Libyan Parliament appointed Fathi Bashagha to replace incumbent PM Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba. This has renewed a standoff between the east and west of the country. Dbaiba, who was elected a year ago in UN-backed talks, has refused to cede power to Bashagha.