Med. Union Parliamentary Assembly suspends Libya’s observer status

The Parliamentary Assembly of the Union for the Mediterranean has decided to temporarily suspend Libya’s observer status, sending “a clear political sign against the violent repression” of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime.

The decision was taken in Rabat, Morocco, during a meeting of the assembly’s enlarged bureau on Monday on the suggestion of European Parliament representatives headed by vice president Gianni Pittella, an Italian Socialist MEP.

The EP has condemned the Libyan regime numerous times since the start of the conflict and has made it clear it no longer recognised a Libyan government led by Col Gaddafi.

Under the Moroccan presidency of the union’s parliamentary assembly, the bureau also adopted a formal declaration denouncing human right violations in Syria and Libya, welcoming the ongoing constitutional reforms in Morocco and “firmly supporting” direct negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians based on UN resolutions.

To this end, the bureau expressed the conviction that the United Nations’ decision to grant full member status to an independent Palestinian state, with Jerusalem as its capital, in September will push both parties to enter serious negotiations.

The parliamentary assembly brings together 280 parliamentarians from the EU’s 27 member states, the European Parliament and 10 Mediterranean partners, mostly Arab countries.