Mediaboss Marketing

Foreign Minister Najla Al-Manqoush on Wednesday laid the foundation stone for the building of the Libyan embassy in the Ethiopian capital, Addis Ababa, which, in addition to the embassy, will also house the headquarters of the permanent Libyan mission to the African Union.

The Minister delivered a speech on this occasion, stressing the importance for the Libyan embassy and the permanent Libyan mission to function from Addis Ababa, which hosts the AU headquarters and other regional offices and centres.

Al-Manqoush commended the efforts of the AU to achieve unity among African nations, accelerate political, economic, and social integration among the countries of the continent, and strengthen solidarity relations between its people.

She also expressed her gratitude for the efforts of the Libyan embassy staff to enhance cooperation relations between the Libyan state and the Republic of Ethiopia and the services they provide to the citizens, according to a statement by the Foreign Ministry's media office.

View original post here:
Al-Manqoush lays foundation stone for Libyan embassy in Addis Ababa - The Libya Observer

The head of Libyas national oil company has said that his country will try to keep oil production at 1.2 million barrels a day in 2022, but that the company is dealing with serious budget shortfalls

By ADEL OMRAN Associated Press

January 19, 2022, 8:39 PM

2 min read

TRIPOLI, Libya -- The head of Libyas national oil company said on Wednesday that his country is targeting an output of 1.2 million barrels of oil a day in 2022.

Mustafa Sanallah, the head of Libyas national oil corporation, said in a press conference in Tripoli that the countrys industry will strive to keep production at the same level as it achieved in 2021, but that severe budget shortages could pose challenges to maintaining its output.

Libyas top oil body, along with the rest of the country, now faces significant uncertainty after long-awaited presidential elections were delayed last month.

Libya and other OPEC members in agreed in early January to raise production levels despite concerns that the omicron variant of COVID-19 might dampen demand. The 23-member OPEC+ alliance led by oil cartel member Saudi Arabia and non-member Russia said then it would add 400,000 barrels per day in February, sticking with a road map to slowly restore cuts in output made during the depths of the pandemic.

Oil is the cornerstone of the Libyan economy but years of fighting and unrest have severely hindered production.

Libya was plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011 and split the oil-rich North African country between a U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, and rival authorities based in the countrys east. Each side was backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

In 2021, Libya oil production recovered after a 2020 U.N.-brokered ceasefire ushered in a transitional government that had been meant to oversee the country until national elections. Sanallah said that Libya tripled its oil production in 2021 compared to the previous year, despite periodic closures of some fields due to unrest and outdated equipment.

With a healthy budget, Sanallah said the country could up production to approximately 1.5 million barrels a day, but that as of now the company only has 11 percent of the funds needed to keep facilities maintained and running.

Read this article:
Libya aims to maintain oil output after elections delay - ABC ...

The UN Secretary Generals Advisor, Stephanie Williams, met with the Deputy Foreign Minister of Russia, Sergey Vershinin, and reviewed the situation in Libya, holding in-depth consultations on the challenges facing the electoral process, and the military and political situation in the country.

Williams reiterated the importance of UNSMIL coordination role to boost settlement without foreign intervention as part of a conclusive process for all parties

Williams also said on Twitter that they had emphasized the critical role of the international community and the Berlin Process to help Libyans realize their aspirations towards peace and prosperity, through an inclusive Libya-led and Libyan-owned process, and the importance of maintaining stability across Libya.

Vershinin stressed the need for respecting Libya's political process facilitated by the UN, rejecting imposing foreign solutions on the country, and discussing as well as the extension of UNSMIL mandate that ends January 31.

Williams arrived in Moscow on Tuesday upon an invitation by Russian Foreign Minister after visiting Turkey and Egypt.

Original post:
Russia calls for respecting Libya's political process away from imposing foreign solutions - The Libya Observer

Libya's speaker of parliament called Monday for a new interim government to be established in the capital Tripoli, noting that the current executive has outlived its mandate.

A presidential election was due to take place on Dec. 24, followed by legislative polls, but the United Nations-sponsored electoral process was postponed indefinitely due to political tensions.

Those tensions pit a long-standing eastern-based parliament loyal to military strongman putschist Gen. Khalifa Haftar against a Tripoli-based interim government formed last year.

The Tripoli government was selected amid intensive diplomacy after an October 2020 cease-fire between warring eastern and western factions.

The government's mandate "expired due to a censure motion voted by parliament, and the fact that its mandate ended on Dec. 24," speaker Aguila Saleh said during a parliamentary session, in the eastern port city of Tobruk.

"A new government must be formed," he added.

Parliament in September passed a vote of no confidence in the interim government.

Saleh, himself a candidate in the postponed presidential election, called on the attorney general to "investigate" the government's expenses along with "abuses of power" including nominations to posts.

He also demanded that the central bank avoid transferring funds to the government in the absence of parliamentary approval.

No new date has been set for the elections.

The country plunged into turmoil after the NATO-backed 2011 uprising and split into rival governments one in the east, backed by Haftar, and another, U.N.-supported administration in the capital of Tripoli, in the west. Each side is supported by a variety of militias and foreign powers.

In April 2019, Haftar and his forces, mainly backed by Egypt and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), launched an offensive to try and capture Tripoli. His campaign collapsed after Turkey and Qatar stepped up their military support of the Tripoli government.

The Daily Sabah Newsletter

Keep up to date with whats happening in Turkey, its region and the world.

SIGN ME UP

You can unsubscribe at any time. By signing up you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

More:
New government must be formed in Libya: Parliament Speaker Saleh | Daily Sabah - Daily Sabah

The International Criminal Court (ICC) has been asked to investigate alleged war crimes committed against thousands of migrants trapped in Libyan detention centres with the support of Italian and Maltese authorities.

Three NGOs - UpRights, StraLi, and Adala for All - submitted evidence to the ICC on Monday and called on the prosecutor's office to investigate the alleged crimes.

According to their submission to the ICC, and seen by Times of Malta, the NGOs are alleging that six detention centres "under the nominal control of the Department for Combatting Illegal Migration (DCIM), of the Government of National Accord(now the Government of National Unity), are in fact operated by armed groups taking an active part in the hostilities".

They claim that members of those armed groups "systematically subject migrants (men, women and children) to various forms of mistreatments and abuse including murder, torture, rape, forced labour and forced conscription."

On the alleged role of the Maltese authorities, the NGOs claim the evidence submitted shows that together with the Italian authorities, Maltese officials "operated conjointly with the Libyan Coast Guard coordinating its rescue operations to ensure that migrants at sea would be intercepted and returned to Libya".

"The information available indicates a causal connection between such contribution and the crimes migrants suffered in the detention centres," the NGOs said.

The ICC was set up to prosecute individuals for gross violations of international humanitarian law, including genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity. Malta ratified the Rome Treaty establishing the ICC in 2002.

For the ICC to prosecute any such claims, it needs to prove that a country involved must be unwilling or unable to genuinely investigate itself.

RELATED STORIES

On this, the NGOs said: "There is substantial inactivity vis--vis the alleged criminal conduct carried out by Italian authorities and officials. In Malta, only one criminal investigation addressed the conduct of Maltese authorities. It was swiftly terminated by the Maltese judiciary."

Requests to investigate alleged war crimes or crimes against humanity must be assessed by the ICC prosecutor's office, which then decides whether there are the grounds to request a full-scale investigation into claims.

Independent journalism costs money. Support Times of Malta for the price of a coffee.

Read the original post:
Three NGOs want Malta and Italy investigated for war crimes in Libya - Times of Malta