Abdullah bin Zayed participates in Ministerial meeting on Libya

 24/09/2014

NEW YORK: H.H. Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister, has participated in a Ministerial meeting on Libya with the participation of 13 foreign ministers representing Arab and foreign countries, led by John Kerry, U.S. Secretary of State, and Ban Ki-moon, Secretary-General of the United Nations.

The meeting was held on the side-lines of the 69th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, currently being held in New York.

The meeting was also attended by Major-General Faris Mohammed Ahmed Suhail Al Mazrouei, Assistant Foreign Minister for Security and Military Affairs. It covered security and political developments taking place in Libya.

In the meeting's joint communique, the Foreign Ministers condemned the ongoing violence, terrorism, and extremism hijacking Libya's development and democratic process.

Following is the communique in full: The governments of Algeria, Egypt, France, Germany, Italy, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, and the United States, and the European Union and United Nations condemn the ongoing violence, terrorism, and extremism hijacking Libya's development and democratic process. We call on all parties to accept an immediate, comprehensive ceasefire and engage constructively in a peaceful political dialogue to resolve the ongoing crisis, abstaining from confrontational acts that risk undermining it. We fully support the efforts of Special Representative of the Secretary-General, Bernardino Leon, to secure a negotiated settlement and appreciate the work of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya in this regard.

We welcome the announcement of the Special Representative of the Secretary-General of the acceptance of Libyan parties to participate in a UN-facilitated political dialogue, beginning on September 29th, to put an end to the current conflict. We also support the complementary efforts of Libya's neighbours and partners to promote national consensus and reconciliation and their efforts to address Libya's humanitarian crisis. Specifically, we commend and support the efforts of Libya's neighbouring states and the August 25th Cairo political initiative, the September 17th Madrid conclusions, the September 26th neighbouring countries' ministerial in New York, and the Algerian initiative to convene in October Libyan leaders and political forces to participate in a dialogue leading to national reconciliation.

There is no military solution to this conflict. We support the implementation of UNSCR 2174 to address threats to Libya's peace and stability. We remind all parties of their obligations under international human rights law and international humanitarian law. Those responsible for violence and those who obstruct and undermine Libya's democratic transition must be held accountable.

We underscore the legitimacy of the House of Representatives as the sole legislative authority in Libya. Strongly committed to the sovereignty, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity of Libya, we call on Libya's interim government and all elected members of the House of Representatives to adopt inclusive policies that benefit all Libyans and thus form a government that represents all Libyans and meets the aspirations of the Libyan people for security, reconciliation, and prosperity. We encourage the Constitutional Drafting Assembly to advance its efforts to draft a document that enshrines and protects the rights of all Libyans. Further, we encourage the international community to support Libya's elected institutions towards an inclusive political dialogue, reconciliation, and democratic transition, so that they can perform their duties in the interest of all citizens.

We reject any outside interference in Libya. The people of Libya fought to overthrow 42 years of dictatorship and we continue to support their effort to transform Libya into a secure, democratic, and prosperous state.

We agree to reconvene in 60 days in Madrid to discuss developments in this regard.