Libya Contact Group

The Libya Contact Group was an international collective established to support the Libyan National Transitional Council in their effort to overthrow the regime of Muammar Gaddafi in Libya. It was hosted by western nations and members of the Arab League, and known by a variety of other names including the Friends of Libya and the International Contact Group for Libya.[1]

Formation
Attendees at the London Conference on Libya on 29 March 2011

The Contact Group was set up following the London Conference on Libya in March 2011.[2][3] The conference included United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki Moon, prominent delegates from the Arab League and from European countries, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, and representatives from NATO. Leaders of the Libyan National Transitional Council including Mahmoud Jibril were consulted prior to the conference but did not attend.[3]

Contact Group

Its first three meetings were in Doha, Rome and Abu Dhabi.[4]

In its fourth meeting, held in Istanbul in July 2011 and attended by American Secretary of State Hillary Clinton,[5] the Contact Group announced its participants' agreement to deal with the Libyan National Transitional Council, the major coalition of anti-Gaddafi forces, as the "legitimate governing authority in Libya".[6][7]

The fifth meeting was planned to take place in New York on September,[8] but the events in Tripoli forced the members to meet again in Istanbul on extraordinary meeting on 25 August to set up road map for construction of "new Libya".[9][10]

The group recognized the progress made by the Libyan people, NTC, and NATO forces, and underlined the importance of continued support from all entities in the formation of a free and democratic Libya.[11]

Friends of Libya

At the meeting on 1 September 2011 in Paris, the Contact Group was dissolved and replaced with a new international meeting group called the Friends of Libya.[12][13]

A second Friends of Libya conference was held on September 20, 2011 in New York City.[14]

Members

Countries

Belgium, Luxembourg, and Netherlands shared a rotating Benelux seat. Denmark, Norway, and Sweden had a similar arrangement, sharing a Nordic seat.

Observers

Bulgaria was originally an observer, but it began sitting as a full member at the June meeting in Abu Dhabi and thereafter. South Africa boycotted the September meeting in Paris.

International organisations

Observers

Arab League, Gulf Cooperation Council and Organisation of Islamic Cooperation were originally observers, but they began sitting as a full members probably from 29 of July.

Last meeting in Paris

President of France Nicolas Sarkozy invited several new countries and one international organisation on the last meeting of Libya Contact Group:

Nigeria and Saudi Arabia reportedly did attend.[15]

See also

References
  1. "World powers agree to set up contact group to map out Libya's future". Daily Telegraph. 29 Mar 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  2. Suraj Sharma (2011-07-13). "Libya Contact Group meeting to focus on common stance: experts". Xinhua. Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  3. "The London Conference on Libya". Foreign and Commonwealth Office. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  4. Siraj Wahab (Jul 14, 2011). "Istanbul summit likely to up pressure on Qaddafi". Arab News. Archived from the original on July 20, 2011. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  5. Ibrahim Karagul, "Where's the Fire!," Yeni Safak, 19 July 2011.
  6. "Excerpts from Libya Contact Group Chair's Statement". Reuters. Jul 15, 2011. Archived from the original on July 25, 2012. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  7. Ian Black (15 July 2011). "Libyan rebels win international recognition as country's leaders". The Guardian. Retrieved 2011-07-16.
  8. Under-Secretary-General for Political Affairs B. Lynn Pascoe (29 July 2011). "August 2011, Libya". Retrieved 2011-08-17.
  9. Inti Landauro (22 August 2011). "UPDATE: France Calls For Meeting Of Contact Group On Libya". Wall Street Journal.
  10. Josh Rogin (22 August 2011). "Libya contact group to meet Thursday in Istanbul". The Cable. Foreign Policy.
  11. "Conclusions of the Libya Contact Group Meeting, Istanbul, 25 August 2011". Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Archived from the original on 8 April 2015. Retrieved 2011-11-01.
  12. "'Friends of Libya' converge on Paris". CNN. August 31, 2011. Archived from the original on March 2, 2012. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  13. "From 'contact group' to 'friends of Libya'". ZeeNews. August 30, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  14. "At UN, Nations Pledge Support to Libya's Transitional Leaders". Voice of America. September 20, 2011. Retrieved February 24, 2012.
  15. "List of participants at the conference in Paris on Libya". Ennahar Online English. 2 September 2011. Archived from the original on 1 October 2016. Retrieved 5 September 2011.
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