Libya
On 15 June, the Chair of the AU High Level Ad-Hoc Committee on Libya will brief the Council on its mediation efforts. (The AU Committee includes Congo, Mali, Mauritania (Chair) South Africa and Uganda— and will be represented at ministerial level at tomorrow’s briefing.) It seems that there is also a possibility, following the public briefing, that AU Committee members and Security Council members will discuss the Libyan situation in an interactive dialogue.
The format of tomorrow’s meeting has been a point of tension among Council members. Some Council members were concerned that a public debate would not be constructive but were able to accept having the AU briefing in a public format. Others felt that without a full airing of the issues between the Committee and Council members, the AU would not get the focus that it wanted. It seems that the decision may be to use the interactive dialogue format which will follow tomorrow’s public briefing. However, it wasn’t clear at press time whether Council members would keep open the option to speak in open chamber following the AU Committee’s briefing or not. Some Council members felt it was important to be able to respond publicly to the AU Committee’s briefing as well as having the more private exchange afterwords.
It also appears a draft presidential statement is under discussion. It was circulated today by the African members of the Council for adoption after tomorrow’s meeting. The draft expressed concern over the situation in Libya, reaffirmed the Council’s commitment to the full implementation of resolutions 1970 and 1973, called for a ceasefire and a political solution to the conflict, called for full compliance with human rights and international humanitarian law and for full humanitarian access. The draft also reiterated the complementary roles of the AU Committee and the UN Special Envoy Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib. But it is currently unclear whether such a draft will attract consensus.
There remains some wide differences over the best approach to the end-game in Libya and who should be leading the effort. Some Council members might require more robust language on the terms of the ceasefire and want to openly tackle the related question of if, when and how Muammar Qaddafi will leave power.
UN Envoy Abdel-Elah Al-Khatib briefed the Council on 9 June via video-conference after his recent trip to Libya. It seems Khatib said that both sides signaled for the first time a willingness to discuss a political transition. However seemingly irreconcilable differences remained as to what that “political transition” means in Benghazi and Tripoli. (It was originally anticipated that Khatib might brief the Council in person on 14 June and be present for the AU Committee’s briefing as well. However, Council members seem to have decided there was no need for a further input from Khatib so soon after his 9 June briefing.)
