On 18 April, the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council (PSC) convened its 1149th session virtually at the Ministerial level to discuss the Libya national reconciliation process. The session was chaired by H.E. Nabil Ammar, Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Tunisia and Chairperson of the Peace and Security Council for the month of April.

The PSC was briefed by the Political Affairs, Peace and Security (PAPS) Commissioner Bankole Adeoye, the Foreign Minister of Congo H.E. Jean-Claude Gakosso, the Foreign Minister of Libya H.E. Najla El Mangoush and Professor Abdoulaye Bathily, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General (SRSG) for Libya and Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL).

Participants welcomed the successful convening of the Libya reconciliation preparatory meeting in January 2023 and emphasized that the unfolding process must be led and owned by the Libyans and should culminate in an inclusive election to create a legitimate government in Libya. The meeting acknowledged the role of the AU High-Level Committee on Libya in leading efforts towards Libya’s reconciliation and underscored the imperative of coordination among all actors including the AU, UN and neighboring countries.

In this regard, the participants welcomed the role of SRSG Bathily and pledged support to his efforts. They called on the PSC to urge the Libya Presidency Council to designate the members of the National Reconciliation Commission, for this mechanism to be fully operational, and recommended the re-opening of the AU liaison office in Tripoli to facilitate support to the reconciliation process.

SRSG Bathily in his remarks, urged the PSC to encourage the Libyans to embrace dialogue as the means to resolving their differences and urged commitment to the revised roadmap toward elections in December 2023. He emphasized inclusivity and pledged the UN support to the Libya Presidential Council and the AU High-Level Committee on the national reconciliation initiative.