United Nations puts forward plans for unity government in Libya

Saraj, a lawmaker from Libya’s internationally recognized House of Representatives (HoR), would work with three deputy prime ministers on the Presidential Council, Bernardino Leon, head of UNSMIL, told a press conference in the Moroccan city of Skhirat.

Russian Federation has accused the United States and its European allies of tricking fellow council members in 2011 into approving the use of force in Libya to protect civilians, but then using it to support Libyan rebels and oust Muammar Gaddafi, who was subsequently killed.

Mr. León said he would like Libyans to see the proposal as “an opportunity for their country but also an opportunity for so many people in the region, in Syria, Iraq, Yemen, countries where they can not even afford the luxury of what we are doing here today”.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon also appealed to Libyan leaders to sign the accord, as did European Union officials.

The rival parliaments have not even accepted the political agreement that embodies the proposed unity government, so announcing the names appeared rushed.

Fayez al-Sirraj has been put forward as a prime ministerial candidate for the new unity government.

The global community will stand with the Government of National Accord as it undertakes the hard work of restoring peace and stability to Libya and will isolate those who fail to respect the Political Agreement.

Abdulsalam Bilashahir, of the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC), told the BBC: “We are not a part of this [proposed] government”.

It was not immediately clear whether both camps were fully behind the list of candidates, especially with the Tripoli-based government split between hard-liners and a more conciliatory faction. “It means nothing to us and we were not consulted”.

On Thursday, Leon said that around 2.4 Libyans are in need of humanitarian assistance amid political uncertainty in the country, which has allowed Islamic State (ISIL) militants to gain ground in Libya.

Hardliners from both sides had resisted peace talks, which were finalized late last month.

The chaos has led to violence, terrorism and a collapsed oil industry.