2nd LD Writethru: UN Security Council hails decision by Libya's rival parliaments to sign peace deal

The UN Security Council on Friday welcomed an announcement that Libya's two rival parliaments to sign the final peace agreement on Dec. 16.

Samantha Power, the U.S. ambassador who holds the rotating council president for this month, made the statement when she was speaking to reporters here after a council meeting.

The Security Council was briefed via videoconference by Martin Kobler, the UN special representative for Libya and the head of the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL), on the progress made in efforts to bring peace to the North African country.

Kobler told the 15-nation UN body that the parties to Libya's political dialogue process have agreed to set Dec. 16 as the target date to sign the UN-facilitated agreement on forming a national unity government.

Earlier Friday, the representative for the rival Islamist-dominated General National Congress (GNC), Saleh al-Makhzum, also confirmed the new deadline for signing the peace accord, adding that "the UN-sponsored dialogue is the most suitable. This agreement will have a positive impact on Libyans."

Libya is now suffering a political crisis with two rival parliaments and governments battling for legitimacy amid a state of insecurity and anarchy years after the downfall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi.

The UN-backed peace accord, if signed as planned next week, will pave the way for forming a national government by the two rival parliaments in Libya, where the crisis thas left nearly 2.4 million Libyans in desperate need of humanitarian assistance.

Meanwhile, Power also voiced the Security Council's concerns about the security and human rights crisis in Libya.

The council members expressed their "grave concern" about "the spread of ISIL (the Islamic State) in Libya," she said.

The Security Council called upon "all Libyans to unite their efforts" to fight terrorism in the country, Power said.

The peace agreement came following Kobler's two-day meeting with the members of the Libyan political dialogue, which opened Thursday in Tunis, capital of Tunisia.

Kobler told the Security Council that the participants of the political dialogue, numbering up to 40 men and women, decided to publicly announce Dec. 16 as a target date for their signature.

They had unanimously called on all political and security actors to create a conducive environment to enable a future Government of National Accord to assume its responsibilities in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, without threat or intimidation, Kobler said.

"Critically, participants in the political dialogue highlighted the urgency, the time factor," Kobler said.

"Libya is in a race against time. It's very social fabric, national unity and territorial integrity are directly endangered by the forces of extremism and terrorism, the likes of Daesh (also known as the Islamic State), which are actively consolidating and seeking to extend their influence beyond areas under their immediate control."

The peace agreement was also reached two days before a high-level meeting on Libya in Rome, capital of Italy.

Kobler said that the forthcoming High-Level Ministerial Conference in Rome to be hosted on Sunday by Italy and the United States will provide an opportunity for the international community to speak with a strong and united voice in support of the Libyan Political Agreement.

In the context of the Rome Conference, Kobler highlighted a few key points, on behalf of the Libyan dialogue participants.

He said the Security Council must unequivocally support the outcomes of the Libyan political dialogue and the Political Agreement as this would "send a clear message to those whose narrow agendas continue to stand in the way of peace." Enditem