By Sami Zaptia.
London, 17 July 2019:
Egypt, France, Italy, the UAE, the UK and the US issued a joint statement on Libya yesterday.
While the statement called for a ceasefire and a return to UNSMIL-led dialogue, it covered all the various interests of the states currently interfering in Libya, such as fighting terrorism.
The statement also called on “all UN member states to fully respect their obligations to contribute to Libya’s peace and stability, prevent destabilizing arms shipments”.
The statement can be read as confirming the international split on Libya. It does not carry the force of a UN Security Council resolution – where the members were unable to reach an agreement due to the French and Russians.
Here is the statement in full:
The governments of Egypt, France, Italy, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America (P3+3) reiterate their deep concern about ongoing hostilities in Tripoli, call for an immediate de-escalation and halt to the current fighting, and urge the prompt return to the UN-mediated political process.
There can be no military solution in Libya. Persistent violence has claimed nearly 1100 lives, displaced more than 100,000, and fueled a growing humanitarian emergency. The ongoing confrontation has threatened to destabilize Libya’s energy sector, and exacerbated the tragedy of human migration in the Mediterranean.
We note our deep concerns about the ongoing attempts by terrorist groups to exploit the security vacuum in the country, call on all parties to the Tripoli conflict to dissociate themselves from all such terrorists and individuals designated by the UN Sanctions Committee and renew our commitment to see those responsible for further instability held accountable.
We fully support the leadership of UN Special Representative of the Secretary-General Ghassan Salamé as he works to stabilize the situation in Tripoli, to restore confidence in order to achieve a cessation of hostilities, expand his engagement throughout Libya, promote inclusive dialogue, and create the conditions for the resumption of the UN political process.
We need to re-energize UN mediation, which aims to promote a transitional government representing all Libyans, prepare for credible parliamentary and presidential elections, enable a fair allocation of resources, and advance the reunification of the Central Bank of Libya and other Libyan sovereign institutions.
We also call on all UN member states to fully respect their obligations to contribute to Libya’s peace and stability, prevent destabilizing arms shipments, and safeguard Libya’s oil resources in accordance with Security Council resolutions 2259 (2015), 2278 (2016), 2362 (2017), and 2473 (2019).
Finally, we remind all Libyan parties and institutions of their responsibility to protect civilians, safeguard civilian infrastructure, and facilitate access to humanitarian supplies
