The governments of France, Germany, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America said in a joint statement on Friday that they had taken note of the statement on 2 March by the spokesperson of the Secretary-General of the United Nations and subsequent developments regarding the situation in Libya, echoing the UN Secretary-General’s call on all actors to refrain from actions that could undermine stability in Libya and express our concern at recent reports of violence, threats of violence, intimidation, and kidnappings.

The statement stressed that any disagreement on the future of the political process must be resolved without resorting to violence, warning that the five governments stand ready to hold to account those who threaten stability through violence or incitement. 

“We recall that individuals or entities, inside or outside Libya, who obstruct or undermine Libya’s successful completion of its political transition, may be designated by the United Nations Security Council’s Libya Sanctions Committee in accordance with UNSC resolution 2571 (2021) and relevant resolutions.” It added.

In reaffirming their full respect for Libyan sovereignty and for the UN-facilitated, Libyan-led-and-owned political process, the statement reiterated support for UN mediation efforts through the Secretary-General’s Special Advisor, Stephanie Williams, and UNSMIL to sustain the country’s peaceful transition, to facilitate dialogue among political, security, and economic actors, and to maintain their focus on holding credible, transparent, and inclusive presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible in order to fulfil the democratic aspirations of the Libyan people.

“We encourage all Libyan stakeholders, including the House of Representatives and the High State Council, to cooperate fully with these efforts and in the next steps of the transition, as proposed by the UN, in order to establish a consensual constitutional basis that would lead to presidential and parliamentary elections as soon as possible.” It explained.

The five governments reaffirmed their readiness to work with Libya and all international partners to build a more peaceful, stable future for the country and its people and to support its stability, independence, territorial integrity, and national unity.

Meanwhile, Williams sent letters to the leadership of both the House of Representatives and the High Council of State inviting them to nominate six delegates from each chamber to form a joint committee dedicated to developing a consensual constitutional basis, saying the joint committee should convene on 15 March 2022 under the auspices of the UN and with her good offices as the Special Adviser to the Secretary General, to work for a two-week period to achieve this goal, and reiterating that she was awaiting the chambers' speedy responses to this invitation.