UN Headquarters

21 January 2020

Opening remarks to the press following Security Council Consultations on Libya

António Guterres

I just briefed the Security Council in relation to the Berlin Conference on Libya. I think it's very important to recognize that this is a major step. It was, for the first time, possible to sit around the table, all those countries that have a direct or indirect influence in relation to the conflict, and to commit them to non-interference, to commit them to support a ceasefire, to commit them to the arms embargo, to commit them to support the political process; no violations of international humanitarian law or human rights law, to commit them to the support the reform of the economic and security institutions of the country is, of course, extremely important.
 
But this is just the beginning.
 
First of all, the two parties to the conflict were not members of the Berlin Conference. And one of the parties of the conflict has not yet expressed publicly support to the conclusions even if it is participating in the work that is taking place at the present moment – work that already has generated the first meeting of economists from both sides in relation to economic reform, work that will go on with the joint military committee with five elements indicated by each of the sides, and this was already done, and we hoped that it would be able to meet for the first time Tuesday. And the creation of a political forum that will be the entity able to lead a process of reform, allowing for the normalization of the political life of Libya, but not yet formed. There are indications of names from the House of Representatives, indicated names from the High State Council, but there will be a number of names that the UN will have to choose and we need to have the acceptance of both parties for that to move on.
 
And there's still a long way to go. We have a truce. The truce is having some violations but not widespread violations. They are localized until now.
 
We need to move to a ceasefire, and from the ceasefire, we need to move a real political process and we are not yet there. And so this meeting of the Security Council is very important and the pressure that the international community over the parties to the conflict and those that have an influence on them, to make sure that this roadmap is implemented, that we have the truce transformed into a ceasefire and a true political process. The pressure of the international community is essential. The role of the Security Council is essential.