By Sami Zaptia.
London, 17 September 2020:
Stephanie Williams, the Acting head of UNSMIL, commended today what she called the ‘‘courageous’’ decision by internationally recognized Libya Prime Minister Faiez Serraj, to announce his intention to hand over power to a new executive authority by the end of October.
She said his announcement comes at a decisive turning point in Libya’s longstanding crisis ‘‘when it is clear that the situation is no longer sustainable’’. She said the onus is now on concerned Libyan parties to fully shoulder their responsibilities before the Libyan people, to take historic decisions, and to accept mutual concessions for the sake of their country.
‘‘Building on the statements issued by Mr. al-Serraj and Speaker of the House of Representatives Agila Saleh on 21 August 2020, and recent meetings between key Libyan parties in Montreux in Switzerland, Morocco and Egypt, we have an opportunity to restart the fully inclusive intra-Libyan political dialogue, which the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) intends to move forward with at the earliest opportunity. During this period, it is crucial that the international community fulfills its responsibilities as well, to respect Libyan sovereignty, to cease interference in Libya’s internal affairs, and to fully respect the UN arms embargo’’, she concluded.
