H.E. Mr. Ahmed Naseem, Minister of Foreign Affairs, attended a high-level 
conference on Lybia on 20 September. In a statement, submitted to the chairman of said conference, the Maldives cordially welcomed Libya’s National Transitional Council (NTC) to join the international community. Previously during the 66th session of the UN General Assembly on Thursday, 15 September, the representatives had voted with great majority to recognize the NTC as the legitimate representative body of the Libyan people. More than 50 heads of states were present, amongst them U.S. President Barack Obama and French President Nicolas Sarkozy.
As the third country to officially recognize the NTC as early as the 3 April 2011, the Maldives reaffirmed today their support of the new administration and encouraged Libya on the challenging road ahead. In the statement, Maldives emphasized that both democratic principles and Human Rights of the Libyan citizens must be maintained at all costs. According to the statement, the rebuilding process for Libya should include a new constitution, independent institutions of horizontal accountability, and an active civil society. Besides, Human Rights of all people should be protected from now on, the violations of the past must be addressed, and victims should receive justice.
The Maldives stands firmly with the NTC and the Libyan people and looks forward to strengthening bilateral relations between the two countries.
End.
