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By Jamie Prentis.
Tunis, 15 December 2017:
The UN Security Council’s president has said that 17 December is not a deadline for the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) or the Presidency Council and its government of national accord.
In a statement following yesterday’s Security Council meeting on Libya, Japan’s deputy UN ambassador Yasuhisa Kawamura who holds the rotating SC presidency this month said that the “Council emphasises the continuity of the LPA throughout Libya’s transitional period and rejects incorrect deadlines that only serve to undermine the UN-facilitated political process”.
The SC says that the two-year clock does not start ticking on the LPA until its authorised by the House of Representatives.
The action plan of UN envoy Ghassan Salamé based on the framework of the LPA continued to be fully supported, the SC added.
“The Security Council reaffirms its endorsement of the United Nations’ Action Plan for an inclusive Libyan-owned political process under the leadership of the United Nations (UN) as presented by the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG), Ghassan Salamé, in New York on 20 September 2017, in order to deliver the establishment of stable, unified, representative and effective governance under the framework of the LPA,” the statement read.
It also acknowledged the “important role” played by PC head Faiez Serraj and his government’s attempts to push forward reconciliation efforts.
In regards to moves towards elections, it welcomed the start of the campaign by the High National Elections Commission to register voters.
The SC also said a unified and powerful military under civilian oversight remained key. It added that it was watching efforts in Cairo to achieve these goals with keen interest, The SC noted, however, said there could be no military solution in Libya and it urged all parties to support and respect the ceasefire agreed in Paris by Khalifa Hafter and Faiez Serraj in July of this year.
