On Saturday, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) affirmed its keenness to reach peaceful solutions to the crises in a number of Arab countries, to ensure their security, stability, and development.
This came during a meeting of the organization’s foreign ministers, on the sidelines of the 77th UN General Assembly held in New York.
They stressed that “a legal basis, and concrete roadmap including the timetable for Libyan elections are crucial. Attempts to undermine the current peace in the country are not helpful, and very dangerous.”
They also appealed to all Libyan parties to “renounce violence, maintain the ceasefire, resort to dialogue to overcome differences and difficulties, defuse tension, and spare Libya the dire consequences of violence on its security, stability, and people.”
In addition, the FM’s called on all stakeholders to “unite and place Libya’s interest above all other considerations, hold national elections that the Libyan people aspire to, and lay the foundations for security and stability.”
The organization’s Secretary-General, Ibrahim Taha renewed his readiness to contribute to “international and regional efforts aimed at ending the suffering of the Libyan people, and responding to their aspirations for reconciliation and security, within a united nation.”
He indicated that the “current security, political, and economic challenges facing the Islamic world require continuing joint efforts in order to achieve stability, security, and prosperity for all member states.”
The OIC is the second-largest inter-governmental body after the UN, with 57 member states spread across four continents.
It was established in 1969 at a historic summit in Rabat, in response to an arson attack on Al-Aqsa Mosque in occupied Jerusalem.
Libya has been in chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadaffi in 2011. The county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December, and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdel-Hamid Dbaiba, who led the transitional government, to step down. In response, the country’s eastern-based Parliament appointed a rival Prime Minister, Fathi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.