UNSMIL praises Egypt’s role for hosting Libyan dialogue

 

CAIRO – 15 October 2020: The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) praised Egypt’s role for hosting the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State delegations and dialogue between 11 and 13 October.

 

It explained that between 11 and 13 October 2020, delegations of the Libyan House of Representatives and the High Council of State met in Cairo, to discuss constitutional arrangements for the next phase. 

 

It added that the two parties agreed that the transitional period should come to an end.

 

“The permanent phase should be initiated, and that dialogue between the two Councils should continue in order to reach consensus on arrangements that would ensure that the country moves forward. “UNSMIL wrote on twitter saying that it equally appreciates the efforts of both delegations.

 

UNSMIL hoped that this will facilitate the discussions on constitutional arrangements during the Libyan Political Dialogue Forum and contribute to paving the way towards a political settlement.

 

UNSMIL expressed its gratitude to the Government of Egypt for hosting this important event.

 

On October 14, Al-Arabiya Al-Hadath TV reported that the factions that took part in the Libyan talks in Egypt have returned to Libya to discuss the agreed points with their respective authorities.

 

Earlier, the head of the Libyan Revival Bloc, Aref al-Nayed, suggested to the Secretary-General of the United Nations to return to the only source of legitimacy, which is the sovereign choice of the Libyan people, according to the principle of guaranteed self-determination defined by the General Charter of the United Nations.

 

Nayed clarified that holding presidential or parliamentary elections, which isa necessary right for the Libyan people, can only be achieved through a solid constitutional basis agreed upon by the Libyan people.

 

In his letter to Guterres, Nayed suggested the United Nations organize a comprehensive national referendum to avoid serious disputes and divisions because there is no consensus on such constitutional basis at the present moment.

 

He pointed out that this Libyan constitutional referendum will allow citizens to choose one of five Libyan founding documents, namely the 1951 constitution, the amended 1951 constitution in 1963, the declaration of the establishment of the people's authority in 1977, the constitutional declaration of 2011 with the decisions of the February Committee and Resolution 5 of 2014, and the draft constituent body for drafting the 2017 constitution.

 

The Libyan constitutional path was launched in Cairo under the auspices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya, to hold consultations between the delegations of Parliament and the High Council of State, on constitutional issues.