By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 10 January 2018:
Presidency Council (PC) head Faiez Serraj has invited the UN Secretary-General (UNSG) to Libya and believes it will give hope to a political solution that is on the horizon, UNSMIL said today.
Serraj was speaking to the UN’s political affairs chief Jeffrey Feltman, who arrived in Tripoli today for a series of meetings with officials.
Feltman told Serraj that UNSG Antonio Guterres was committed to finally ending Libya’s transition period in an effort to establish “effective and stable” state institutions.
However, Feltman said there was a “window of opportunity” to successfully end the transition with the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) the only effective framework capable of doing so.
Feltman will discuss with Libyan leaders implementing the proposed action plan devised by UN envoy Ghassan Salamé, who is also in Tripoli. Feltman reiterated the UN’s backing of the action plan at a press conference, a position largely followed by the international community.
The UN political chief also said Guterres was supportive of the “Libyan people as they work towards a referendum on the constitution, holding elections and local and national reconciliation”.
When asked how the UN could convince all parties to commit to election, Feltman said he was encouraged by the wider support among Libyan towards going to the polls. He also cited the “success” in voter registration.
The UN would provide technical assistance Feltman added, but he conceded the security conditions needed to be good enough to ensure free and fair elections.
He also urged leaders and prospective candidates to not just assure diplomats and the UN of their desire to move the poltical process forward, but to make these commitments to the Libyan people too.
Salamé’s action plan, which initially focused on limited amendments to the LPA, has already run into problems because the State Council refused to accept the changes.
Some of the alterations included a new PC consisting of three members, each representing of the country’s three historic provinces. It would nominate a prime minister for the House of Representatives (HoR) to approve, act as commander in chief of the Libyan army, and be in charge of Libya’s foreign relations.
While the Tobruk-based HoR voted and approved the proposals, the State Council felt it had been effectively bypassed and declared the HoR’s support as illegal.
State Council president Abdulrahman Sewehli then met with Feltman, where he urged the UN and international community to “take a forim stand against (Libyan National Army commander) Khalifa Hafter, who has been obstructing peace & national accord for over 2 years, hindering LPA implementation, impacting on security & economy of Libya”.
Sewehli also rallied against the apparent “regional and international interference” that had affected reconciliation efforts.
Feltman will be in Libya and Tunisia until Friday, but his exact itinerary has not been disclosed for security reasons. Reports say he will visit the east of Libya and meet with Hafter and Saleh.
