17 April 2016 – Thank you very much; it’s a pleasure to be here today among you, the first time with the press here. I am just coming from an extensive meeting with the Presidency Council and this was a meeting among friends and partners.
This is my second visit here since the arrival of the Presidency Council to Tripoli and I encouraged the PC to go on with the roadmap based on the Libyan Political Agreement and what the Libyan Political Dialogue decided on the 10th of March.
The roadmap could not be clearer.
First, the House of Representatives has to decide on the Government of National Accord; they have to endorse it.
This is a clear guidance of the Libyan Political Dialogue and I will be in Tobruk tomorrow to encourage all to follow this way, to endorse the Government of National Accord.
There are several challenges here now and the most important one is the expansion of Daesh and the security situation. This only can be tackled if there is a clear consensus to go ahead with the GNA; to be formed and take over the ministries here in Tripoli, and I encourage all members of the House of Representatives to meet tomorrow in a constructive spirit of, in the spirit to bring the development of the country ahead, to finally provide peace, prosperity and security all over Libya.
Because the process cannot be hostage to the paralyzes of the House of Representatives and the message of the Libyan themselves, the Libyan Political Dialogue, was very clear that the Presidency Council should come here to Tripoli and should go on with installing the Government of National Accord, and that the government in place has to transfer the power to the GNA.
I am very happy to have seen in the last days many foreign ministers of the European Union coming here and also ambassadors. And these are visits of solidarity with the Presidency Council; this is the support of the international community that this is the way to go.
The problem of terrorism is endemic; the humanitarian situation is dire; hospitals need medicines; people need bread. Only a Government of National Accord can bring the process forward.
I had also today a meeting with some members of the Libyan Political Dialogue here in Tripoli to get their views on how to proceed and I also had a very interesting and a very constructive meeting with the deputy Mufti here in Tripoli.
Today is not a visit, I am not visiting Tripoli anymore, I am working from Tripoli, the United Nations is back in Tripoli, we will be here every day to work with you for the benefit of the people of Libya. And I get from the ambassadors also that they would like to reopen their embassies here. And I heard from Tripoli’s mayors and other mayors last time I was here that they want Tripoli back as the capital of Libya, and this requires the reopening of the embassies once the security situation permits.
The Libyan Political Agreement is the way to peace and prosperity; it is the only plan, there is no other way but to go ahead, and I would like to encourage everybody who still have problem with accepting the Libyan Political Agreement to come on board for the sake of the people of Libya who suffered so much.
