Viana Palace, Madrid
A total of 21 ministers and representatives of countries and international organisations attended the meeting to reaffirm their support for the people of Libya at this time of serious crisis, to emphasise the leading role of the United Nations, through Bernardino León, the Special Representative for Libya of Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, in his attempt to secure an immediate ceasefire and launch a national dialogue to enable the political transition to be completed.
The President of the Government, Mariano Rajoy, the Spanish and Libyan Ministers for Foreign Affairs, José Manuel García-Margallo and Mohamed Abdulaziz, and Special Representative Bernardino León, agreed in their inaugural speeches on the urgency that exists for the international community to ensure the stabilisation of Libya, where the crisis is having serious repercussions on security and the economy.
They all agreed on the deep concerns for the humanitarian effects of the crisis, which include the forced displacement of thousands of Libyan citizens, human trafficking, human rights violations and growing insecurity, and condemned all forms of foreign interference.
The participants reiterated their commitment to unity, sovereignty, stability and the territorial integrity of Libya, and their conviction that there is no military solution to this crisis.
They also expressed their support for the House of Representatives as a legitimate institution that must be capable of bringing together all the Libyan people and commence a dialogue process that is essential and inclusive so that the main Libyan groups can reach a consensus on the future of the country, which must be set out in a new constitution.
Minister García-Margallo advocated that Libya must remain a priority on the international agenda. The solution must come from the people of Libya themselves, but the international community has an obligation and a responsibility to provide them with support, and hence must step up the coordination of efforts and initiatives so that the people of Libya end up as the masters of their own future and development.
List of attendees: on the part of Europe - Cyprus, Spain, France, Greece, Italy, Malta and Portugal; on the part of Africa - Algeria, Chad, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, Mauritania, Niger, Sudan and Tunisia; international organisations include the Arab League, the United Nations, the African Union, the European Union and the Union for the Mediterranean.
EFE