AU contact group on Libya calls on Libyan actors to observe ceasefire

21 Mai 2020

Tripoli, Libya, May 21 (Infosplusgabon) - The African Union (AU) contact group on Libya Wednesday reaffirmed its appeal to “Libyan actors to put the interest of their country over all other considerations and observe immediate and unconditional ceasefire, an official source said.

This, it noted, would pave the way for the “re-launch of the Libyan-Libyan unifying dialogue far from foreign interference and the promotion of national reconciliation in view of sustainable inter-Libyan political accord”.

In a statement issued on the website of the African Union commission at the end of their virtual meeting, members of the Contact Group underlined "the need for the respect of the free will of the Libyan people”.

It urged the tribal leaders to invest further and “use all their common sense and influence to contribute to promote dialogue and reconciliation between the Libyans and ease the cycle of violence and destruction of their country".

The meeting, held on the initiative of the Congolese president and chairman of the high level committee for Libya and the African Union Contact Group, that is to say South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa, examined the situation in Libya.

Other members of the high level committee were current chairman of the African Union, Abdel Fattah Al-Sissi, Egypt’s President Abdelaziz Djerrad, Algeria’s Prime Minister Mahamet Zene Cherif, and the Chadian minister of foreign affairs.

The Contact Group expressed "once again its deep concern with the political deadlock in Libya, the serious deterioration of the security situation in the country, and the continuation of fighting between belligerents to the detriment of the legitimate aspirations of the Libyan people".

It pledged "its full solidarity with the Libyan people and reaffirmed its attachment to Libya’s unity, territorial integrity and the preservation of its natural resources for the Libyans only".

During the meeting attended by the chairman of the African Union Commission, Moussa Faki Mahamat, the AU Peace and Security Council Commissioner, Smaïl Chergui, and the Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General to the African Union, Hanna Tetteh, the Contact Group deplored the deterioration of the humanitarian situation in Libya, aggravated further by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.

They "strongly condemned the numerous violations of the international humanitarian law likely to be war crimes, such as the attacks against hospitals and vital installations, the persistence of random bombardments on civilian zones and the breaches of humanitarian access".

They called on all parties in conflict to fulfill the obligations imposed by the international humanitarian law and to take the necessary measures to prevent and stop immediately all those acts.

They also reaffirmed the need to preserve the Central Bank and the Libyan National Oil Company from all politization and their management for the benefit of all the Libyans.

The Contact Group reaffirmed its full support to the conclusions from the Berlin Conference, deploring that "the commitments made at the Conference were neither respected nor applied with particularly the continuation of the fighting, the movement of new weapons and the massive and continued recruitment of mercenaries which are perfect illustration".

In its document, the Contact group underlined "its firm condemnation of foreign interference", calling on the UN Security Council to take its responsibilities for the strict respect of the arms embargo, the cessation of foreign interference and the imposition of immediate ceasefire on belligerents.

The Group also “called countries interfering in the Libyan internal affairs to stop those interference".

They reaffirmed "the need to fight against terrorism in Libya, in all its forms and manifestations, in accordance with the UN Charter, the international law and in application of the pertinent resolutions of the UN Security Council and the AU convention on the prevention and fight against terrorism (1999), the 2004 Protocol and the 2002 Action Plan".

They again called on "all parties to dissociate the terrorist groups put on the UN list and abstain from taking support, financing or to take them to Libya in a bid to take part in the ongoing conflict".

The Contact group also expressed "its deep concern with the devastating consequences of the continuation of fighting in Libya on all neighbouring countries and the African continent.

It praised the actions taken by Libya’s neighbouring countries to fight against the risks that threaten the country’s security and stability and all countries of the region, as well as those of Sahel.

It again encouraged them to “carry on with their efforts to bring Libyan actors to end the use of force and give priority to dialogue for a quick and lasting resolution of the conflict for the benefit of Libya and the whole region".

The Group also urged neighbouring countries to continue their coordination and cooperation, particularly within the framework of the consultation mechanism that brings together their ministers of foreign affairs.

The participants indicated their will to carry on their efforts to engage the Libyan parties in dialogue, in close collaboration with the United-Nations and the rest of the international community for the advent of a Libyan political solution to that crisis.

They expressed their satisfaction in that respect with the participation of the AU Commission in the different groups from the Berlin Conference.

FIN/ INFOSPLUSGABON/ERD/GABON2020

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