UNSMIL meets members of Security Working Group
Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The acting head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), Stephanie Khoury, on Sunday held consultations in Tripoli with ambassadors and defence attachés who are members of the Libyan Security Working Group.
In a statement, UNSMIL said the consultations come in preparation for the Security Working Group meeting scheduled for 17 October in the central city of Sirte.
It said participants stressed the urgent need to support the efforts of the 5+5 Joint Military Committee in the effective implementation of its mandate, including by strengthening the ceasefire agreement.
The participants also expressed their hope for a fruitful exchange during the meeting in Sirte, with the aim of strengthening stability and peace in the North African country.
In addition to the United Nations, the Security Working Group includes Britain, France, Italy, Turkey and the African Union. Its last meeting took place on 12 July at UNSMIL headquarters in the Libyan capital, Tripoli.
The Security Working Group emerged from the Berlin Process on Libya, a multi-track process facilitated by the United Nations and hosted by the German Government and UNSMIL in 2020 with the aim of reaching consensus among Member States concerned by the Libyan crisis and providing a solution under an international umbrella to protect Libyan negotiations on the future of the country.
The 5+5 Military Committee held its last meeting in Sirte on 24-25 August, in the presence of the Acting Head of UNSMIL dedicated to discussing security developments.
In 2020, the Joint Military Committee, composed of equal numbers of senior officers from the western and eastern regions signed a ceasefire in Geneva covering, among other things, the gradual departure of fighters, mercenaries and foreign forces from the country.
This ceasefire, despite the failures to implement all its clauses, had made it possible to relaunch the political process with the election of a unified executive authority, the Presidential Council and the Government of National Nnity with a transitional phase leading to general elections in December 2021.
But the persistent disagreements between the protagonists of the crisis have not allowed this agenda to be respected, in particular the organisation of elections and the withdrawal of fighters, mercenaries and foreign forces from the country.
-0- PANA BY/JSG/MA 30Sept2024
