On Thursday 22 September, the United Nations, the EU, African Union, the League of Arab States and 22 national delegations (Algeria, Canada, Chad, China, Egypt, France, Germany, Jordan, Italy, Malta, Morocco, Niger, Qatar, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sudan, Tunisia, Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States) called on the Libyan Presidency Council to present a new cabinet to be approved by the Chamber of Representatives. After a new vote failed to give confidence in the government at the end of August, the Chamber gave the Presidency Council ten days on 24 August to propose a new cabinet, a deadline that is now long past.
In a joint statement after a ministerial meeting attended by Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj, the delegations urged the Chamber of Representatives "to support national reconciliation by gathering all the members of parliament and fulfilling its duty to hold a free and fair vote on the revised cabinet and on the constitutional amendment to enshrine the LPA (Ed: of November 2015) in Libyan law without delay". "Over the next year the GNA must prepare for a peaceful transition to a permanent, elected Libyan government. We strongly urge the Constitutional Drafting Assembly to complete its work and present the draft Libyan constitution for a referendum in 2017", states the international community. Meanwhile, it urges the government of national unity "to work urgently to restore essential services, provide humanitarian assistance, and create conditions for the safe and dignified return of internally displaced persons and refugees. We urge the GNA to resume oil production to strengthen Libya’s economy for the benefit of all Libyans."
Stating that the GNA is the only legitimate recipient of aid for international security, the delegations say only unified national forces can ensure security and defend the country against terrorism, calling for rapid progress in the Presidency Council’s work to unify professional military forces under the auspices of the council and in line with the December 2015 political agreement. (Original version in French by Camille-Cerise Gessant)