Al-Dabbashi praises ratification and points to divisions
LIBYA – Libya’s former permanent representative to the United Nations, Ibrahim Al-Dabbashi, has described the House of Representatives’ ratification of the maritime boundary delimitation agreement with Turkey as a sound decision that, in his view, had been delayed by internal political disputes and the absence of the voice of Libyan experts.
In a post on his Facebook page, Al-Dabbashi said that, as he reads it, the agreement respects the provisions of the Convention on the Law of the Sea signed in 1982 and the principles established by international courts in maritime boundary disputes, including the cases on delimiting the continental shelf between Libya and Malta and between Libya and Tunisia. He said these principles could also apply to the boundaries between Libya and Egypt and between Libya and the Greek island of Crete.
Legal position and dealing with disputed areas
He said ratification strengthens Libya’s legal position should it turn to international courts and, in his assessment, gives it grounds to halt foreign oil and gas exploration in disputed maritime areas.
Al-Dabbashi cited what he said was an earlier Libyan move to halt the activities of an Italian company contracted by Malta to explore in a disputed maritime area, before the International Court of Justice later ruled that the area fell under Libyan sovereignty.
Message to Egypt and Greece
Al-Dabbashi expressed hope that Libya’s brothers in Egypt and friends in Greece would understand Libyans’ right to defend their maritime rights, describing international justice as an appropriate arena for all to resolve disputes and preserve rights, and noting that Libya had been among the first to take this route and would welcome any initiative by the countries concerned in the same direction.
