UN presents Libyans with latest draft proposal for unity

The U.N. representative to Libya reconvened delegations from Libya's rival governments on Monday to present the latest draft proposal for a unity government that is increasingly being presented as the war-torn country's last chance for stability.

After warning last week that the country was running out of money and risked ceasing to be a functional state, Bernardino Leon urged the Libyans to approve the fourth version of the draft proposal in a ceremony in Morocco.

"Today the people of Libya have their eyes on this gathering, on you, in the hope that you'll save your country and your people from protracted conflict," he said. "I am full of hope that this draft represents a fair and reasonable way forward."

Since the beginning of the year, the United Nations has facilitated a series of different negotiating tracks seeking to bring together the rival governments and warring militias tearing Libya apart.

The talks have only witnessed halting progress, however, and fighting on the ground continues to threaten efforts to bring together the rival governments.

Libya's internationally recognized government is based in the east, while a coalition of Islamists and other groups holds sway in the west. Neither has been able to triumph militarily.

Libya has increasingly become a matter for concern for Europe because it is a haven for Islamic State radicals and a jumping off point for immigrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean.

Delegates said they would adjourn to study the latest draft, which includes a power-sharing agreement and an interim government to guide the country, before reconvening in the coming days.

 

 

AP