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Speech by

His Excellency Mr. Ali Zeidan

Prime Minister of Libya

&

Head of the Libyan Delegation

Delivered before

The Sixty-Eighth Session

of the United Nations General Assembly

New York, 25 September 2013

In the Name of Allah The Most Compassionate The Most Merciful

Mr. President,
Your Majesties and Highnesses,
Your Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

It gives me great pleasure at the outset to warmly congratulate His Excellency Mr. John Ashe on his election as President of the General Assembly, and to commend Mr. Vuk Jeremić on the successful manner in which he conducted the work of the previous session of the General Assembly. I would also like to express our deep appreciation to the Secretary-General of the United Nations, His Excellency Mr. Ban Ki-moon and his team for the efforts they exert for the realization of the lofty purposes and objectives of the United Nations organization.

Mr. President,

I have the honour to speak before this noble forum, on behalf of my country, Libya, which is forging ahead towards democracy, good governance and the rule of law, with confidence and determination, along with the tireless efforts exerted by her sons to embody the ideals of human dignity, and to achieve development and prosperity, leading to the construction of a free and modern democratic State, despite the daunting challenges, and the enormous difficulties and obstacles they face as a result of the heavy legacy left behind by the former dictatorial regime on the political, economic and social levels.

The Libyan people have been able to successfully accomplish a step forward towards building their own modern democratic state through the elections for the formation of the National Congress held on July 7, 2012, whose integrity has been acknowledged by all observers. The interim government has emerged from the General National Congress, and it is working in full coordination with the Congress to accomplish the national agenda in the transitional period according to the priorities, and a time frame set up, and to rebuild, re-organize and reform the State institutions, mainly the police and the national army and the judiciary. A number of ministries has been restructured, especially the ministries of Defense and Interior. Work is under way to absorb the unemployed freedom fighters and reinstate them into the army and the police, and other State institutions. The judicial police have been activated, and the management of the prisons supervised by the freedom fighters has been restored, with a view to conduct a fair and impartial trials in accordance with international standards for the high officials and supporters of the former regime accused of committing murder, rape and looting of public funds. A transitional justice law has been recently adopted by the National Congress.

The constituent body election law to draft a permanent constitution issued by the National Congress on July 20, 2013 is another step to accomplish the most important National agenda items, towards the formulation and adoption of a permanent constitution for Libya that would end a difficult transitional period the country is currently experiencing, with some security incidents and breaches occurring from time to time, that the official authorities are addressing with the available potentials.

In this context, I should reassure the international community that Libya is moving steadily and confidently with a solid will and a genuine desire towards the establishment of the rule of law in which the respect for human rights, fundamental freedoms and the peaceful transfer of power prevail; State of positive partnership with the international community in light of mutual respect and non-interference in the internal affairs of other countries, and to positively contribute to international cooperation, achieve common interests of all nations, disseminate security, and promote peace, as stipulated by the United Nations Charter and international laws and norms.

Mr. President,

The people of Libya will always bear in mind high appreciation and respect for the United Nations for its positive role and contribution in the making of their modern history, beginning with its resolution on November 21, 1949, on the independence of Libya, to the urgent response to the distress call of the Libyan people by adopting resolutions (1970) and (1973) in 2011 to protect civilians and support the revolution of 17 of February, which saved Libya from the repressive dictatorial regime. This positive role is still ongoing through the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) which is performing a distinguished effort to provide technical advice, raise awareness, and capacity-building to various sectors in order to advance the democratization process, and to achieve justice and national reconciliation, and the restructuring of State institutions. Allow me, Mr. President, on this occasion to express my profuse thanks and appreciation to Mr. Tarek Mitri, the head of the mission, and his team for their contributions and efforts in helping Libya to overcome the transitional phase and cross to the safe port. We look forward to further cooperation and support of the mission to achieve the desired goals. Our thanks extended also to all international partners, the Friends of Libya, who have offered, bilaterally and through regional and international organizations, all kinds of support and assistance during the hard times when Libya was encountering the most notorious dictatorial regime. This support is continuing in the process of democratization and the rebuilding of State institutions.

Mr. President,

We look forward to the cooperation of the countries concerned, especially the neighboring countries, to surrender the wanted elements of the former regime who found shelter in these countries, and engaged in criminal activities which threaten the security and stability of Libya. We also look forward to a greater understanding by the international community and the UN Security Council to the pressing needs of Libya’s security to impose control on land and sea borders by facilitating Libya’s access to appropriate weapons and equipment without delay, and to fully lift the ban on arms once requested by the Libyan government. We also urge the Security Council and countries concerned to take the necessary measures to ensure the repatriation, by the Libyan authorities, of the Libyan frozen assets in other countries without any condition, and to be made available to the Libyan people as soon as possible, as stipulated in related Security Council resolutions.

Mr. President,

Libya faces many problems caused by illegal migration, on the humanitarian, health, security and economic levels; and therefore we call for concerted efforts on the regional and international levels to find an urgent solution to this problem, by supporting the development plans in the origin States to ensure the reduction of this phenomenon and its negative impacts on the destinations and transit States, and on the migrants themselves who are exposed to the risk of death, and the ugliest manifestations of exploitation and human rights violations by gangs scattered all over the world.

In this regard, we would like to affirm our support to any initiative that would focus on the development cooperation to curb the phenomenon of illegal migration, and takes into consideration the respect for the sovereignty of the States, and ensures the dignity and rights of the migrants.

On this occasion, it would be remiss if I fail to express my sincere gratitude and appreciation to the International Organization for migration, for their cooperation with the Libyan institutions for the completion of several projects through which the provision of technical and advisory assistance is necessary to organize the shelters, and to work on bringing national legislations in line with the relevant international agreements. Thanks are extended also to the European Union for their assistance to help Libya in reducing the problem of illegal migration by providing assistance to the Libyan authorities in securing the borders.

Mr. President,

(UN Photo/Sarah Fretwell)

Libya faces several security threats and risks including the smuggling of narcotic drugs and stupefacient substances, illegal immigration, and arms smuggling. It is known that addressing these risks requires a bilateral and multilateral response to strengthen the efforts made at the national level. In order to achieve this, Libya hosted during the month of March 2012, the Regional Ministerial Conference on Border Security, which adopted the “Tripoli Action Plan for Border Cooperation” and the establishment of mechanisms and structures for cooperation and exchange of information and experiences in the field of border protection and control. The Libyan city of Ghadames also hosted on 12 January 2013, a meeting for the heads of governments of Libya, Algeria and Tunisia to strengthen joint security cooperation for addressing the challenges posed by the developments in the Sahel and the Sahara region. We refer also to the Ministerial Conference on the support for Libya in the areas of security, justice and the rule of law, which was held in Paris on 12 February 2013, at the initiative of the Libyan interim government, with the support of the French and British governments, which has adopted two action plans to develop the sectors of security and justice in Libya. No doubt this cooperation is supporting the efforts of the government on the national level to strengthen and perpetuate the security institutions and building the capacity of the Border Guards.

Mr. President,

Libya started to take the necessary measures to improve the infrastructure, the resumption of development operations, and the completion of existing projects in various sectors, with the substantial financial resources required, it has become imperative to work expeditiously to recover the looted money from the treasury of the Libyan state, and smuggled abroad. From this podium, I urgently reiterate the call already sent to all States to cooperate with us and help us in detecting and recovering of those funds. We also emphasize our request to the countries in which there are Libyan investments to ensure the rights of those investments and the property of the Libyan state on their territories, and to ensure that those investments are not compromised, especially in some countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, where some were under coercive measures that caused significant damage to these investments.

Mr. President,

My country attaches great importance to human rights issues, where the process of safeguarding and promotion of those rights, and the prevention of any violation in this area come on the priorities of the Libyan interim government, which has taken, in coordination with the General National Congress, a number of steps to achieve this, including: –

• Working on amending or repealing legislations that are inconsistent with the international obligations of the Libyan state in the field of human rights.
• The activation of the constitutional scrutiny on laws and legislations contrary to the provisions of the Constitutional Declaration.
• The ratification of the accession to certain international conventions including the International Convention for Persons with Disabilities and its Optional Protocol. The preparation is underway for the accession to other international agreements such as the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Prohibition of Torture and the International Convention for the Enforced Disappearance.
• Devising a practical mechanism for the implementation of the decision of the Human Rights Council (19\39), to provide technical assistance and capacity-building to Libya through direct cooperation between the Libyan government and the High Commissioner for Human Rights, with the assistance of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya. In this context, we look forward to the High Commissioner’s visit “Mrs. Navi Pillay” to Libya before the end of this year.
• Establishing an intergovernmental committee to follow up on the situation of human rights in Libya, headed by the Minister of Justice and the membership of deputy ministers of interior, defense, culture and civil society.

Mr. President,

Libya contributes very seriously in the international efforts exerted to disarm weapons of mass destruction, and to maintain international peace and security, through the dedicated work to fulfill its obligations under international instruments on disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, as Libya works in coordination and full cooperation with the international institutions and organizations concerned, and international partners to dispose the other chemical weapons stockpile in proper time, and is working to strengthen the partnership with the international Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) with which it has relations of technical and scientific cooperation in a number of areas. Libya is always keen to participate in all regional and international forums on disarmament of weapons of mass destruction, and to re-organize and regulate the conventional arms trade; as Libya signed the Treaty on the Arms Trade on 9 July 2013.

On this occasion, I would like to emphasize that Libya is determined to reconsider the international instruments for disarmament which has not yet acceded to, to take the appropriate decision upon the adoption of a permanent constitution and the formation of the parliament and the government based on this constitution.

In this regard, we renew our call to act urgently to conclude an unconditional and legally binding international instrument to ensure the security of non-nuclear states from the threat or use of nuclear weapons against them, pursuant to relevant General Assembly resolutions, and in line with the advisory opinion of the International Court of Justice in 1996.

I also confirm Libya’s full support to the international efforts aiming at creating more areas free of nuclear weapons and weapons of mass destruction in various regions of the world. To contribute to the achievement of this goal, Libya is working in full coordination with the brothers at the Arab League to ensure the successful holding of the Conference on making the Middle East a zone free of nuclear weapons and other weapons of mass destruction, which, unfortunately, has been postponed. We call upon His Excellency the Secretary-General of the United Nations and other parties to the organization of the conference to make every endeavors as stipulated by the resolution 1995, and the outcome document of the Review Conference of the Non-Proliferation Treaty in 2010, to hold the conference during the current year, and call upon all States concerned to participate in it, to ensure its success.

Mr. President,

Libya shares the concerns of the international community on the phenomenon of terrorism, as it acceded to most international instruments to combat terrorism, and almost all the agreements concluded in the framework of regional groupings, as well as the conclusion of a number of bilateral agreements for cooperation and coordination in the fight against terrorism. Libya is also keen to participate in all international forums aiming at combating this phenomenon through the implementation of the United Nations strategy, which was approved in 2006, and encourages the efforts to complete the drafting of a comprehensive convention on terrorism, according to resolution (66\105) of the General Assembly of the United Nations.

Mr. President,

This session is being convened as we approach 2015, the deadline for achieving the Millennium Development Goals, and it became clear that a lot of countries, including a number of African countries, are facing great difficulties to achieve, due to political and social instability experienced in some states of the continent, the consequence of conflicts and the lack of financial resources. This requires assisting these countries by supporting their efforts to establish peace and security, and the operationalization of the development orientation. In this context, Libya emphasizes the importance of supporting the development efforts of countries emerging from conflict, through advising and enabling them to get the technology and scientific programs and assistance they need to build their capacity in various fields.

With regard to the development agenda beyond 2015, we believe that it takes to build on the successes that have been achieved in the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals, and the renewed political will to continue the commitment to achieving those goals, and the reaffirmation of the principles and main findings of the summits held by the United Nations, including International Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio +20), and the embodiment of a true international partnership for development.

Mr. President,

Libya supports the continued efforts to reform the United Nations organization with its various organs; especially the Security Council to make them able fulfill their mandates and keep up with the challenges of the 21st century. The reform of the Security Council, to which we aspire, remains elusive due to the widening gap between the positions of the Member States and lack of political will for some of them. In this regard, we urge all parties to be flexible to allow for an agreement on a fair reform formula that takes into account the interests of all geographical groups. Here, I would like to emphasize the just request for the equitable representation of Africa in the Security Council, both in the permanent and non-permanent membership categories, so the United Nations would become more democratic and efficient; and that all Member States would contribute to achieve its lofty goals.

Mr. President,

The Palestinian people continues to live a real tragedy for more than six decades, starting from the expulsion from their homes, to the exaction of most of their territory in 1948; the tragedy aggravated by occupying the remaining territories 1967, and the continued violation of their rights and sanctities, and being subject to repressive practices including murder, detention, land confiscation, house demolitions, and land leveling over the past decades, in flagrant violation of human rights and international law and all international conventions and norms. The time has now come for the international community to assume its responsibilities to end this tragedy as soon as possible, by taking urgent and decisive actions to ensure the full protection of the Palestinians, and to stop the daily suffering and relieve the injustice through comprehensive solution to the Palestinian issue that would removes the occupation and enable the Palestinian people to restore their territory and establish their own independent Palestinian state with Al-Quds as its capital, and the return of all Palestinian refugees to their homes, according to the relevant international resolutions.

Mr. President

The tragic developments taking place in Syria are of imperative need for the international community to put an end to this human tragedy, and stop the bloodshed and the systematic destruction; therefore, we reiterate our call to the UN Security Council to act in accordance with the concept of the Responsibility To Protect, in order to find a solution to the problem, through consensus among its members, to save the Syrian people from daily massacres and help in achieving their legitimate demands.

Mr. President,

Once again, Libya calls upon the international community and human rights institutions to put an end to the human tragedy experienced by the Muslim Rohingya minority in Myanmar, and to accelerate the formation of an international investigation committee to bring those responsible for crimes to international justice, and secure the return of the displaced to their homes, and provide compensation to the victims.

Thank you Mr. President