It will take some time. The military monitoring committees, composed of representatives of both parties and responsible for implementing the agreement, should specify the details. They will need the full support of their respective governments, senior military commanders and foreign sponsors. The latter group, particularly Turkey, Russia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, is expected to work together, even if they fear that the success of the deal will reduce their influence on the ground. Everyone has more to gain from a functional, stable and united Libya than from a Libya that remains divided and chaotic or falls back into war. The implementation of the ceasefire agreements will take some time and will require strong support from the UNITED Nations Security Council, including the establishment of a monitoring mechanism. But immediate tangible progress in defining and implementing the ceasefire commitments of both sides is also needed to create the conditions for the UN-backed political talks scheduled for November. “We understand that this agreement was reached by only Libyans on both sides of the conflict, who are taking decisive steps to restore their sovereignty over Libya,” the statement said. “As stated, the agreement requires all foreign mercenaries and military personnel to withdraw from Libya. The outcome of the meeting between the two sides in early February was a consensus on several principles, including the defense of Libyan territory, Libya`s independence from international interference, opposition to “terrorist groups identified by the United Nations (al-Qaeda, ISIS, Ansar al-Sharia)” and support for the role of an existing UNSMIL committee in the exchange of prisoners and the return of mortal remains. The two sides agreed to continue negotiations to reach a “comprehensive ceasefire agreement”. UNSMIL proposed 18 February for the next round of talks. [31] On January 20, Salamé said that thirteen representatives of the House of Representatives (HoR) and thirteen representatives of the High Council of State (HCS) would attend the meeting at the end of January.

and “independent persons”, including women and minority representatives. At last week`s talks in Geneva, a smaller committee of political dialogue participants was convened to break the deadlock, but the 75 members of the LPDF will now vote on the agreement they have reached. The deal was welcomed by Egyptian Foreign Minister and German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, whose country this year hosted a major international conference on Libya to curb foreign interference in the country. Libya`s warring parties signed an agreement on a permanent ceasefire after five days of talks in Geneva. As of February 25, 2020 [Update], Ahmed Abu Shahma is the head of the five GNA members of the Libyan Joint Military Commission (JMC) 5+5. [59] Ali Hamed al-Lamaoui, a political representative of a brigade of the Toubou people of southern Libya, said that as of February 22, 2020, the JMC had excluded “the Libyan majority from the construction of solutions,” with four of the five GNA representatives coming from Zintan, Misrata, Tripoli, and Zawiya. Al-Lamaoui was skeptical about the representativeness of the GNA Five and the chances that the JMC would reach an agreement. [60] UNSMIL thanks Libya`s neighboring countries and constructive support and members of the Berlin Process and calls on the international community to continue to play its part in fully respecting and supporting this Libyan-Libyan agreement, including the implementation of the UN arms embargo against Libya.

The agreement outlines four key areas for follow-up. The first focuses on relations between Libyan military factions and their foreign supporters. The parties commit to withdraw all foreign fighters from Libya by 23 January 2021. The problem is that neither side officially admits to being supported by foreign fighters, which could lead to future retirement. But based on talks with people involved in the negotiations, the Crisis Group understands that on the Tripoli side, Syrian anti-Damascus fighters provided by Turkey and a handful of Sudanese and Chadian armed groups, mainly based in southern Libya, are expected to return home. On Haftar`s side will go the approximately 2,000 to 3,000 Russian entrepreneurs of the Wagner Group, pro-Damascus Syrian fighters and a second collection of Chadians and Sudanese. [fn] Telephone interviews with Crisis Group, UN officials, politicians from Tripoli and Benghazi, 24-26 October 2020. Hide the footnote The ceasefire agreement offers a rare moment of real hope for the long-suffering Libyan people. If Libyan factions do not implement the implementation or if their foreign supporters obstruct the process, this hope will have been tragically short-lived. The U.S. State Department welcomed the deal, calling it “positive news.” Fourth, the agreement outlines important confidence-building measures such as the reopening of streets in central Libya and the resumption of flights between Benghazi and Tripoli.

Both sides have already begun to implement these measures, which will benefit most Libyans, and this part of the deal is expected to go smoothly. Following the ceasefire agreement reached in Geneva in October last year, the United Nations invited 75 Libyans to participate in a political dialogue in Tunis, where the date for presidential and legislative elections was agreed. The Libyan Joint Military Commission 5+5 began its second round of negotiations in Geneva on 18 February. Salamé described the nature of the issues to be discussed such as: “What kind of monitoring do you need? Who will do it on the ground? Will they be disarmed? What happens to other weapons? What happens to non-regular fighters? What will happen to the overconstructed areas, I mean very urbanized in the city of Tripoli, I mean who will be in charge of the police. [61] The GNA said it withdrew from the talks after the port of Tripoli was bombed by the LNA. Talks continued on 20 February[62] and continued on 23 February. ==References== The JCC participants agreed on the draft ceasefire declaration for the return of the civilian population to their homes and on the establishment of a joint ceasefire monitoring mechanism to be administered by UNSmil and the JMC and proposed to the leaders of the GNA and the LNA. A third meeting was scheduled for March to define the terms of reference of the subcommittees responsible for the implementation of the agreement. [32] This agreement contains a large number of demands from both sides – including the withdrawal of troops from the front to their respective camps, the withdrawal of various groups of foreign troops, and the freezing of foreign security agreements. .