Ageela Saleh, the Speaker of Libya’s parliament, the House of Representatives (HoR), and the Khaled Mishri, the head of the High State Council (HSC) finally met yesterday in Geneva. Brokered by the UN, this is their first official face-to-face meeting.
The HoR and HSC have been trying to hammer out an agreement on the outstanding articles of Libya’s constitution based on which elections would be held. This comes after the planned December 2021 elections failed to take place.
The two bodies held three rounds of talks in Cairo in an attempt to bridge their differences. The third and final round of Cairo negotiations (12 to 19 June) ended with no agreement on immediate political transition or elections.
The Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Libya, Stephanie Williams, reported at the end of the Cairo talks that ‘‘The Joint (HoR-HSC) Committee achieved a great deal of consensus on the contentious articles in the Libyan Draft Constitution. Differences persist on the measures governing the transitional period leading to elections.
SASG Stephanie Williams: “In her opening speech yesterday at the High-Level Meeting on the Libyan Constitutional Track attended by Saleh and Mishri, Williams said:
‘‘Excellencies, Honorable Speaker of the Parliament, President of the High Council of State
Distinguished members of the delegations,
I am very pleased to welcome you here today in this United Nations Headquarters, the Palais des Nations, a historic and highly symbolic United Nations venue, which once hosted the League of Nations, and which I truly hope will be auspicious for this important meeting.
I would like to express my gratitude to our host, the Swiss Government, which has once again demonstrated its friendship to the United Nations and to Libya, welcoming us at very short notice with gracious hospitality.
Your presence here today is an example of responsible leadership and I want to thank you for accepting my invitation to convene soon after the conclusions of the third and final round of talks in Cairo.
The Joint Committee deliberated extensively in carrying out a detailed review of the Draft Constitution, settled disagreements, and achieved consensus on important issues. For the first time, since its adoption by the CDA in 2017, the House of Representatives and the High Council of State engaged in a serious consideration and review of the Constitutional proposal, agreeing on critical elements, safeguards and guardrails which are indispensable for the holding of national elections and therefore to end Libya endless cycle of transitions and interim periods. It is a commendable achievement and it has been a laborious and demanding task.
We are here today to discuss a final and equally important element which has remained outstanding during the talks in Cairo and which requires your leadership to reach consensus, the transitional measures: timelines, modalities and milestones to guarantee a clear path to the holding of national elections as soon possible, through joint work and a consensual outcome.
I have witnessed an unprecedented level of cooperation between the institutions and you have now reached a critical stage of what has been a long and difficult path.
It is now the time to make a final and courageous effort to ensure that this historic compromise takes place, for the sake of Libya, the Libyan people and the credibility of its institutions.
Thank you.’’
