On 26 March, the 5+5 Joint Military Commission (JMC) organised a meeting in the Rixos Hotel in Tripoli between commanders of the military and security units in the western, eastern, and southern regions, in the presence of the UN Special Envoy to Libya Abdoulaye Bathily. In a statement, UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said the discussion had ‘focused on the role of the military and security institutions in providing a conducive environment for advancing the political process and holding free and fair elections during 2023.’ Bathily noted that this was the first inclusive meeting inside Libya in a decade and said that the meeting was ‘a great trust building exercise for Libyan security and military actors’, stressing that security and military leaders will play an important role in advancing consensus on security and other key matters on the path to elections. The participants agreed that the dialogue should be Libyan–Libyan and inside Libya, rejecting foreign interference in Libyan affairs. They pledged full commitment to the outcomes of the previous dialogues in Tunis and Tripoli, rejected fighting and all forms of violence throughout the entirety of Libya’s territory, and said they would continue to work towards unifying the military institutions through the Chiefs of Staff as well as unifying the security institutions and the rest of the state institutions. The statement went on to stress three other points in the political sphere including the formation of a unified government for all Libyan state institutions, increasing efforts to address the challenges facing those displaced and those affected by fighting and wars, and the need for the HoR and HSC to complete their tasks in order to pursue elections. The participants agreed to hold the next meeting during the month of Ramadan in Benghazi.
