UK hosts conference on Libya
The UK will host the London Conference on Libya to discuss the situation in Libya with allies and partners on 29 March.
More than 40 Foreign Ministers and representatives from key regional organisations are expected to attend. These include the United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, OIC Secretary General Dr Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu, the Prime Minister of Qatar, Foreign Ministers from key regional countries including Iraq, Jordan, UAE, and Morocco, Secretary Clinton, and Foreign Ministers from across Europe and NATO members, along with Secretary General Rasmussen. The Arab League, Lebanon and Tunisia will also be represented.
The London Conference will be chaired by the Foreign Secretary William Hague and opened by Prime Minister David Cameron. It will be hosted at Lancaster House and will begin at 14:00, ending by 17:00. The Conference will be followed by a press conference at 17:30 in the Foreign Office on King Charles Street.
The London Conference will:
- Strengthen and broaden the international community’s commitment to implementing UNSCRs 1970 and 1973, ensuring that Libyan civilians are protected from violence;
- Reaffirm the importance of urgent humanitarian assistance to Libya, in particular to alleviate the suffering in Misrata and on Libya’s borders given the disruption of essential supplies such as water, food and medical provisions;
- Call for a political process which helps create the conditions in which the people of Libya can chose their own future, supported by the international community.
In order to support these aims the Conference will also forge a wide group to act as a focal point for international thinking on Libya and a forum to co-ordinate long-term support to the people of Libya. This will help ensure that we learn the lessons of the past and undertake early and co-ordinated international planning for the future. It is crucial that a political process begins and that the international community rallies together to support Libya’s transition from dictatorship to a democratic society where the people of Libya can choose their own future.
In the run-up to the Conference the UK and others are co-ordinating closely with the key Libyan opposition figures including the Interim Transitional National Council (ITNC) who are legitimate political partner and who alongside civil society leaders could help to begin a national political dialogue, leading to a representative process of transition, constitutional reform and preparation for free and fair elections.
The Prime Minister and President Sarkozy have issued a joint statement setting out the aims of the Conference.