Libyans should strive for peace at national conference: UN

New York, March 27 (IANS/AKI) The United Nations Security Council has urged a national conference taking place in Libya in mid-April to "engage in good faith" in efforts to forge a roadmap for "credible and peaceful" presidential and parliamentary polls in the chaos-stricken country, the UN said in a statement on Wednesday."The National Conference provides a crucial opportunity for all Libyans to put aside their differences, exercise restraint for the good of the country, and achieve peace and prosperity for the Libyan people," said a statement issued by the UNSMIL mission.A session of the UN Security Council late on Tuesday "called upon all those attending to come together to engage in good faith in this Libyan-led, Libyan-owned process", the statement said.Security Council members gave their full backing for UN Special Envoy to Libya Ghassan Salame and to UNSMIL "as they seek to mediate a political way forward in Libya that would lead to credible and peaceful elections," the statement said.They also called upon all UN member states and regional organisations to unanimously support Salame "during this critical phase of Libya's transition", according to the statement.The Security Council members recalled Libyan leaders' commitments to "work constructively" with UN-backed efforts to stabilise the North African country made at the international conferences in Paris on May 29 and in Palermo on November 12-13 last year, the statement added.
--IANS/AKI
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