As the Libya Herald reports: Participants in the Libya Dialogue which hammered out the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA) together with s members of the Presidency Council which it appointed and several members of the House of Representatives (HoR) have converged in Tunis for talks tomorrow, Thursday, to try and break the impasse over the appointment of the Government of National Unity (GNA).
Kobler did warn that unless there was a vote of confidence in the GNA by the HoR, he could convene a meeting to the Libya Dialogue to find a way forward. He no doubt will wait until the meeting is over to issue any sort of news release.
Although this is a key issue, Kobler issued a release instead on a meeting in Cairo: Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies (CIHRS) and the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), convened a two-day conference under the theme of “The Role of Civil Society in Restoring Rule of Law and Human Rights in Libya.” The conference took place on 3 and 4 March in Tunis, Tunisia.
He issued another release on a conference in Tunis to mark International Women’s Day. Very few women hold ministerial positions in the proposed GNA. Notice that neither conference is in Libya itself. Who pays the expenses for Libyan participants who go to these conferences?
According to the Herald, Libyan political observers and diplomats are becoming pessimistic about the success of any attempts to move forward and legitimize the GNA. Some within the Presidency Council are suggesting the GNA go to Tripoli and start work without formal approval from the HoR. Once the HoR sees the GNA is up and running it would then feel a duty to approve the GNA. If the GNA could go to Tripoli and gain control of central bank and of the National Oil Company, it could then starve the HoR of funds. However, as Kobler complains, his own temporary security members cannot operate in Tripoli without facing arrest. The HoR is the legislature of the GNA. Why would they go to Tripoli as the legislature of the GNA they have not approved?
A more likely scenario is that the Dialogue committee simply accepts the statement by some 100 members of the HoR supporting the GNA as a basis for its legitimization. Although Kobler welcomed the statement, at least three members who appear on the list have denied even signing it. I wonder if the approval in the statement is conditional. Another approval of the GNA in principle has been conditional on deleting Section 8 of the LPA which gives the function of commander in chief of the Libyan National Army to the Presidency Council immediately upon signing. Haftar would lose his job. This matter is no longer mentioned in mainstream discourse. Section 8 of the additional provisions in the Skhirat agreement has a similar provision but took effect on December 17 when the LPA was signed in Skhirat. Section 8 cannot be deleted. It can be ignored.
The Herald reports with considerable frankness: There have already been a number of legal sleights of hand in producing the LPA, not least the reliance on Salah Makhzoum to sign it “on behalf of” the General National Congress (GNC) when he had already resigned from the Dialogue and been replaced by GNC Deputy President Awad Abdul-Saddeq.
That is just the tip of the iceberg. Makhzoum also submitted all the names for the State Council of the GNA. These members are from the General National Council (GNC) and are to be appointed by the GNC. Makhzoum was turfed from the GNC along with several other members who are nevertheless still regarded as members of the State Council. The State Council is mainly an advisory body. It is a sop to the GNC which has no legislative powers in the GNA. The Herald also notes; “…participation in the Dialogue is by invitation from the UN Special Envoy, not appointment by either the HNC or the HoR.”
Emhemed Shouab, who was head of the HoR Dialogue team, said the vote of confidence had to come from the HoR alone. Any other endorsement of the GNA would not be legitimate. Yet there seems to be no move to reconvene the HoR for a vote. Even if the HoR did reconvene, it needs to amend the Constitutional Declaration of 2011 to incorporate the GNA into Libyan law. This would require 125 votes in favor, Yet the last two meetings of the HoR have not even managed to reach a quorum. Other suggestions as to what might be done are found in this article.
