Mikati Calls for Implementing UNSCR 1701, Deploying Lebanese Army in the South

Prime Minister Najib Mikati (The office of the Prime Minister)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati (The office of the Prime Minister)
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Mikati Calls for Implementing UNSCR 1701, Deploying Lebanese Army in the South

Prime Minister Najib Mikati (The office of the Prime Minister)
Prime Minister Najib Mikati (The office of the Prime Minister)

Lebanon’s caretaker Prime Minister Najib Mikati called for an immediate ceasefire and the implementation of steps that the Lebanese government has committed to under UN Security Council Resolution 1701, including the deployment of the Lebanese army south of the Litani River to coordinate fully with peacekeeping forces in the region.
Mikati's statement followed a meeting with Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and former Progressive Socialist Party leader Walid Jumblatt.
He emphasized Lebanon’s adherence to the international call for a ceasefire, which had been endorsed by the United States, France, the European Union, Japan, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Germany, Australia, Canada, and Italy during meetings at the UN General Assembly.
While condemning the Israeli aggression, which has claimed the lives of many Lebanese citizens, the Lebanese premier stressed the importance of national unity in confronting the attacks.
He also called on the international community and organizations to meet their moral and legal obligations by quickly responding to the Lebanese government's emergency support plan, especially as Israel continues its military operations.
Alongside discussions on the ceasefire, Berri held meetings with various parliamentary blocs to address Lebanon's presidential vacuum.
MP Sajih Attieh, from the Moderation Bloc, reported that Berri reaffirmed his commitment to dissociating the issue of Gaza from Lebanon's presidential elections. Attieh pointed to a significant opportunity for consensus on a presidential candidate who can secure broad support, helping Lebanon face its ongoing challenges.
Berri presented several ideas to foster dialogue and urged all parties to engage actively in discussions to achieve a breakthrough in the presidential crisis.
In another meeting, the speaker received a delegation from the Independent Consultative Parliamentary Meeting, which included Deputy Speaker Elias Bou Saab and several MPs.
Bou Saab noted that discussions addressed the presidential file, revealing that Berri is now more flexible and no longer insists on holding a national dialogue as a precondition for electing a president, a significant shift from his previous stance.
Berri and his ally Hezbollah had previously insisted on dialogue as a condition for holding an election session and continued to back their preferred candidate, former minister Sleiman Franjieh. This position had been met with rejection, as many political parties called for a separation between the ceasefire process and the presidential election, urging Berri to schedule a voting session as soon as possible.

 



Libya's Eastern Parliament Approves Transitional Justice Law in Unity Move, MPs Say

Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo
Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo
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Libya's Eastern Parliament Approves Transitional Justice Law in Unity Move, MPs Say

Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo
Members of Libyan legislatures known as the High Council of State, based in Tripoli in the country's west, and the House of Representatives, based in Benghazi in the east, meet for talks in Bouznika, Morocco, December 19, 2024. REUTERS/Ahmed Eljechtimi/File Photo

Libya's eastern-based parliament has approved a national reconciliation and transitional justice law, three lawmakers said, a measure aimed at reunifying the oil-producing country after over a decade of factional conflict.

The House of Representatives (HoR) spokesperson, Abdullah Belaihaq, said on the X platform that the legislation was passed on Tuesday by a majority of the session's attendees in Libya's largest second city Benghazi.

However, implementing the law could be challenging as Libya has been divided since a 2014 civil war that spawned two rival administrations vying for power in east and west following the NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

"I hope that it (the law) will be in effect all over the country and will not face any difficulty," House member Abdulmenam Alorafi told Reuters by phone on Wednesday.

The United Nations mission to Libya has repeatedly called for an inclusive, rights-based transitional justice and reconciliation process in the North African country.

A political process to end years of institutional division and outright warfare has been stalled since an election scheduled for December 2021 collapsed amid disputes over the eligibility of the main candidates.

In Tripoli, there is the Government of National Unity (GNU) under Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah that was installed through a UN-backed process in 2021, but the parliament no longer recognizes its legitimacy. Dbeibah has vowed not to cede power to a new government without national elections.

There are two competing legislative bodies - the HoR that was elected in 2014 as the national parliament with a four-year mandate to oversee a political transition, and the High Council of State in Tripoli formed as part of a 2015 political agreement and drawn from a parliament first elected in 2012.

The Tripoli-based Presidential Council, which came to power with GNU, has been working on a reconciliation project and holding "a comprehensive conference" with the support of the UN and African Union. But it has been unable to bring all rival groups together because of their continuing differences.