Libyan National Conference
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The Libyan National Conference was a planned meeting in
Ghadames Ghadames or Ghadamis ( Ghadamsi: ⵄⴰⴷⴻⵎⴻⵙ / ''Ɛadēməs'' adeːməs , ) is an oasis town in the Nalut District of the Tripolitania region in northwestern Libya. Ghadamès, known as 'the pearl of the desert', stands in an oa ...
for organising
elections An election is a formal group decision-making process whereby a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has operated ...
and other components of a peace process in Libya. The conference was prepared over 18 months during 2018 and 2019 and planned to take place 14–16 April 2019. It was postponed in early April 2019 as a result the attack on Tripoli by the
Libyan National Army The Libyan National Army (LNA; , ''al-jaysh al-waṭaniyy al-Lībii''), also known as the Libyan Arab Army (LAA; , ''al-Jaysh al-'Arabiyy al-Lībii'') or the Libyan Arab Armed Forces (LAAF; ), is a component of Libyan Armed Forces, Libya's mil ...
led by
Khalifa Haftar Khalifa Haftar (; born 7 November 1943) is a Libyan-American politician, military officer, and the commander of the Tobruk-based Libyan National Army (LNA). In 2015, he was appointed commander of the armed forces loyal to the 2014 Libyan parliam ...
.


Preparation

The Libyan National Conference was coordinated by
Ghassan Salamé Ghassan Salamé (; born 1951) is a Lebanon, Lebanese academic who currently serves as the Minister of Culture since January 2025. He previously served in the same position from 2000 to 2003. He was the Dean of the Paris School of International Af ...
, head of the
United Nations Support Mission in Libya United may refer to: Places * United, Pennsylvania, an unincorporated community * United, West Virginia, an unincorporated community Arts and entertainment Films * ''United'' (2003 film), a Norwegian film * ''United'' (2011 film), a BBC Two f ...
(UNSMIL) over 18 months during 2018–2019. From April to July 2018, UNSMIL and the
Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue The Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), otherwise known as the Henry Dunant Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue, works to prevent and resolve armed conflicts around the world through mediation and discreet diplomacy. A non-profit organisation base ...
organised 75 meetings in Libya and internationally with 7000 Libyans, three-quarters men and a quarter women. Half a million comments were collected on online
social media Social media are interactive technologies that facilitate the Content creation, creation, information exchange, sharing and news aggregator, aggregation of Content (media), content (such as ideas, interests, and other forms of expression) amongs ...
from 130,000 online followers together with 2000 formal online "submissions". The November 2018 summary of the consultation stated that the main desires of Libyans were: * "a united Libya capable of defending its borders and sovereignty"; * "a united military institution, free from political interference and committed to the national interest"; * "more fair distribution of resources through a decentralized state"; * "a government based on competence, not identity"; * "professional police services to ensure local security". Salamé summarised the preparation of the conference as including "broad consultation with all the Libyan factions and groups, and after the painstaking and delicate handling of local, regional and international constraints and imperatives." The planned number of participants is about 120–150 Libyans from diverse sociopolitical Libyan groups, with no foreign groups represented. Salamé stated in April 2019 that holding the conference was justified given that "the necessary conditions had been met to enable an effective solution to the crisis in Libya through a political settlement, the establishment of a national charter and commitments that could be given to place the country on the path of recovery, towards peace, restoration of unity and sovereignty and a decent life for the Libyan people." The holding of the National Conference was supported by the
United Nations Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international peace and security, recommending the admission of new UN members to the General Assembly, an ...
.


Aims

The conference was planned to only make recommendations, with no executive powers, with the aim of not competing with existing Libyan political bodies such as the Presidential Council, the
House of Representatives House of Representatives is the name of legislative bodies in many countries and sub-national entities. In many countries, the House of Representatives is the lower house of a bicameral legislature, with the corresponding upper house often ...
, the High Council of State. Specific proposals that should result from the conference include methods and dates for the 2019 presidential and parliamentary elections. These would be recommended to the House of Representatives and High Council of State, who would be responsible for implementing these.


Postponement and relaunch with new name

The National Conference was postponed in early April 2019 as a result of the military actions constituting the
2019–20 Western Libya campaign The Western Libya campaign was a military campaign initiated on 4 April 2019 by the Operation Flood of Dignity () of the Libyan National Army (LNA), which represents the Libyan House of Representatives, to capture the western region of Libya an ...
. In late 2020, a series of meetings similar to the originally planned National Conference was initiated, with the new name being the
Libyan Political Dialogue Forum The Libyan Political Dialogue Forum (LPDF) is an intra-Libyan political body involved in series of meetings started in late 2020, initially aiming to lead to Libyan elections, Libyan peace process and "democratic legitimacy of Libyan institution ...
.


References


External links


Official web site
(Arabic only) {{Libyan institutional transition 2019 conferences Libyan civil war (2014–2020) Libya and the United Nations Libyan peace process