The African union high-level ad hoc committee on Libya - Outcomes of the Meeting

Addis Ababa, 26 May 2011: As part of the implementation of its mandate, the African Union(AU) High‐Level ad hoc Committee on Libya met in Addis Ababa, on 25 and 26 May 2011, at thelevel of Heads of State and Government. The Chairperson of the AU Commission and the AUCommissioner for Peace and Security attended the meeting.

The ad hoc Committee reviewed the situation in Libya, in light of the update provided by the AUCommissioner for Peace and Security. The Committee also interacted with the representativesof the Government of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya and those of the Transitional National Council(TNC) of Libya.

In the course of these meetings, the ad hoc Committee updated its interlocutors on AU’s effortstowards the resolution of the crisis in Libya. The Committee also received clarifications on therespective positions of the two Libyan parties with regard to the AU Roadmap, in follow up tothe commitment they made, during the ministerial meeting of the ad hoc Committee, held inAddis Ababa, on 26 April 2011, to submit written observations on this Roadmap.

The representatives of the Government of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya elaborated on thedocument submitted earlier on by the Libyan Government to the AU Commission on“Mechanisms and Means of Implementing the Roadmap of the African Union”. The documentoutlines the following: (i) ceasefire, including confidence‐building measures and the monitoringmechanism; (ii) humanitarian assistance to the Libyan population and the African migrantworkers; (iii) political dialogue, and (iv) other related measures.

The TNC representatives presented a document on the “Framework for negotiations onmeeting the legitimate demands of the Libyan people in the establishment of democraticconstitutional rule”. This was followed by an in‐depth exchange of views on the document withthe members of the ad hoc Committee.

The ad hoc Committee reported on its efforts to the extraordinary session of the Assembly ofthe Union, held in Addis Ababa, on 25 May 2011. The Assembly adopted a decision on thepeaceful resolution of the Libyan crisis by which it endorsed the AU Roadmap and approved the2recommendations contained in the report of the Chairperson of the Commission on theChallenges to Peace and Security on the Continent and AU’s efforts.

As a follow‐up to its own deliberations and to the Assembly decision, the Committee agreed onthe next steps of the implementation of its mandate. These revolve mainly around thefollowing:

(i) a further visit to Libya to pursue the dialogue initiated with the parties, including on theurgent issue of the ceasefire, for which the Ad hoc Committee intends to table adetailed document;

(ii) the dispatching of a ministerial delegation to New York to interact with the SecurityCouncil and its members; and

(iii) practical steps to engage specific AU bilateral partners on the Roadmap and the actionsto be taken by the international community to facilitate an early resolution of theconflict in Libya.

The ad hoc Committee reiterated its determination to intensify its efforts towards theestablishment of a credible and verifiable ceasefire, as a priority step towards theimplementation of all the components of the Roadmap.