The United States and four European countries have reiterated support to hold inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections in Libya "in the shortest time possible."
This came in a joint statement issued by the representatives of the U.S., United Kingdom, France, Italy and Germany in Libya following their closed meeting in New York on the sidelines of the 77th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA) in New York.
The representatives of the five countries "expressed their support for Special Representative of the Secretary-General Abdoulaye Bathily as he takes up his mandate to advance political stability and reconciliation among Libyans."
They underlined the importance of having a "transparent management of oil revenues and agreeing on a unified executive with a mandate focused on preparing for elections."
The five Western countries also strongly rejected "any use of violence and reiterated their support for full implementation of the Oct. 23, 2020, cease-fire agreement" between Libya's warring rivals.
The United Nations chief recently urged Libya’s political rivals to preserve peace “at all costs” and quickly agree on legal changes so elections can take place because there is a question of government “legitimacy that now becomes extremely difficult to overcome.”
Secretary-General Antonio Guterres also strongly encouraged world powers and countries that have interests in the North African country to meet again in Berlin, saying previous conferences of key players were “the most useful international instrument that we had to avoid the worst.”
Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich North African county has for years been split between rival administrations in the east and west, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments.
The country’s current political crisis stems from the failure to hold elections in December 2021 and the refusal of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah who led a transitional government to step down. In response, the country’s east-based parliament appointed a rival prime minister, Fethi Bashagha, who has for months sought to install his government in Tripoli.
U.N. political chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned the Security Council on Aug. 30 that failure to resolve Libya’s political crisis and hold delayed elections poses a growing threat in the country, pointing to recent violent clashes that killed at least 42 people and injured 159 others, according to Libyan authorities.
She said the clashes between armed groups supporting the rival claimants to be prime minister involved the indiscriminate use of medium and heavy weapons and displaced 50 families, significantly damaged five health facilities and affected two detention centers for migrants and refugees involving a total of 560 people.
