UN heartened by Libya commitments ahead of 2019 conference
PALERMO, Italy — The U.N. envoy for Libya said Tuesday he was encouraged by support from Libyan factions and the international community for a national conference planned for early 2019 to chart a path to greater stability and elections in the lawless country.
Ghassan Salame praised the “louder sound of unity” among key regional players and “a much higher level of conviviality” between Libyan rivals that he sensed during a two-day meeting in Sicily.
“So I do consider this conference as a success and as an important milestone in our common struggle to bring back peace, security and prosperity to the Libyan people,” Salame told a press conference.
Italy, the former colonial ruler in oil-rich Libya, had hosted the meeting in hopes of helping Libya crack down on Islamic militants and human trafficking while making progress on a U.N. action plan for improving security, economic and political problems in the country.