UK hosts conference on Libya

30 March 2011

30 March - 14:00

Outcomes of the conference

The London Conference on Libya yesterday (29 March) brought together over 40 Foreign Ministers and international organisations, including the UN Secretary General, Secretary of State Clinton, and the PM of Qatar, and agreed to support a process which would lead to a better future for the people of Libya.

Conference outcomes:

• Strengthened the coalition in support of the implementation of UNSCRs 1970 and 1973. It agreed to continue international efforts until the very clear conditions laid out these Resolutions are met. These include an immediate ceasefire, a halt to all attacks on civilians and full humanitarian access to those in need. 
• Accepted the UN's offer to co-ordinate humanitarian aid for the civilian population of Libya and lead the planning of longer-term stabilisation.
• Established a political process to support the people of Libya in choosing their own future. The conference agreed that Qadhafi and his regime have completely lost legitimacy.
• Agreed to establish an Libya Contact Group to take this work forward.  This Contact Group will: provide leadership to the international effort to support Libya; provide a forum for coordinating international policy on Libya; and provide a focal point in the international community for contact with the Libyan parties. Qatar offered to host the next meeting in Doha.

29 March 17.50 Read the statement from the conference chair Foreign Secretary William Hague following the London Conference on Libya today.

Attendees at today's conference on Libya held at Lancaster House in London. Picture: FCO

9.00 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, the Chairman of the African Union Dr Jean Ping, 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.