In a joint diplomatic note to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres on July 9, the Permanent Representations of Bahrain, South Cyprus, Egypt, Greece and Saudi Arabia set out in detail the reasons – in accordance with Article 102 of the Charter of the United Nations. Nations – for which should not be included in the list of international treaties, the Memorandum of Understanding signed in Istanbul on November 27, 2019, the Government of Turkey and the “Government of National Reconciliation” (GNA) of Libya, for demarcation jurisdictions in the Mediterranean,
The diplomatic note of the five permanent representatives is a continuation of the meal they had on June 16, at the residence of the Greek Permanent Representative, Ambassador Maria Theofili, with the UN Assistant Secretary-General for Legal Affairs, Miguel de Serpa Soares. According to information transmitted by the KYPE at the time, the UN did not intend to sign the memorandum before September.
Citing UN General Assembly Resolution 73/210, the 5 ambassadors note that registration should not take place until the treaty or international agreement enters into force between two or more parties, which means that confirmation that it is invalidity is a prerequisite for registration.
“It is clear that the Memorandum does not comply with the registration procedures set out in Articles 5/1 and 2 of the Annex, and in particular that any attached declaration certifying the date and method of entry into force would be false and invalid, since its President The Libyan House of Representatives made it clear in an official letter to the Secretary-General that the House of Representatives has not ratified and does not accept the Memorandum. “The registration of the Memorandum, despite this critical condition, would not be in accordance with the resolution of the General Assembly A / RES / 73/210″, the diplomatic note states.
Another argument concerns the fact that the Government of National Reconciliation was created on the basis of an agreement ratified by Resolution 2259 of the SA and the memorandum blatantly violates its terms.
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“In particular Article 8/2 (f) which stipulates that the powers of the Presidency Council of the Council of Ministers (the” Presidency Council “) as a whole, not of its President alone, include the conclusion of” international “agreements and conventions provided that approved by the House of Representatives “.
“This article was completely ignored by the President of the Presidency Council by unilaterally signing the memorandum of understanding and did not seek its ratification by the House of Representatives, therefore the memorandum did not enter into force. “This is evident from the aforementioned letter addressed by the Speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives to the Secretary-General,” the diplomatic note reads.
It added that “the rejection of the memorandum by the Libyan House of Representatives can only mean that it has not entered into force under international law. “While the MOU is presented as such to avoid the internal process set out in the Libyan Political Agreement (LPA), it was deliberately drafted and presented in the form of an international agreement in order to be eligible for membership in the United Nations.”
It also notes that under Article ¼ of the LPA the Government of National Reconciliation ceased to exist, while under Article 1/3 the composition of the Presidential Council is incomplete and the composition is incomplete following the resignations of members and “is not representative of Libya with the different areas of it “.
The five ambassadors point out to the UN Secretary-General that the United Nations, when drafting a request for a treaty, should consider, along with national dimensions, certain international dimensions.
“In this respect, the registration of the Memorandum of Understanding raises very serious issues of an international nature, including the role of the Organization. The United Nations Secretariat, through the Special Representative of the Secretary-General, facilitated and approved the LPA and its terms. The Security Council also approved the LPA and its terms by Security Council Resolution 2259 (2015). “As a result, the United Nations Secretariat, in recording this memorandum, would be unaware of the actions apparently aimed at halting and obstructing the implementation of the LPA, developments which the Secretary-General has a responsibility to report to the Security Council.”
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They also note that the above-mentioned memorandum has intensified tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, which have increased as a result of recent actions stemming from it, leading to further polarization and undermining efforts to achieve the desired understanding between neighboring nations, the stability of the whole area.
“Consequently, and on the basis of the legal arguments described in paragraphs 1-9 of this note, the Permanent Missions to the UN of the Kingdom of Bahrain, the Republic of Cyprus, the Arab Republic of Egypt, the Hellenic Republic and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia “They urge the United Nations Secretariat not to record the Memorandum of Understanding signed between the Government of the Republic of Turkey and the Government of the Libyan National Accord on the delimitation of maritime jurisdiction in the Mediterranean.”
