We represent the two rival Libyan political houses, and we are proud to announce that we have just reached a long sought-after agreement to finally end the political impasse that has plagued our resource-rich nation since Gaddafi’s overthrow.

The two parties to the agreement – the Tripoli-based General National Congress (GNC) and the House of Representatives – are establishing a government of national unity based upon the principals of Franklin Roosevelt’s and Winston Churchill’s 1941 Act of the Right of Nations to Self-Determination. The Roosevelt-Churchill doctrine, based on the principles of equal rights and fair equality of opportunity, states that nations have the right to freely choose their sovereignty and international political status with no external compulsion or interference and stands among the core principles of the United Nations charter.

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For the first time in four years of gruesome Libyan civil war, GNC officials engaged in comprehensive talks in the suburbs of Tunis with delegates from the House of Representatives (HOR). Negotiators from both the GNC and HOR were operating with the full authority of their respective houses. And after a great deal of difficult work, those negotiations resulted in this path breaking agreement.

The agreement establishes a new representative body that would choose a committee to nominate a prime minister within 15 days, while another committee would conduct a review of Libya’s constitution.

We will now begin the arduous effort of seeking international support for our agreement. Veteran German diplomat Martin Kobler took over the job of UN special envoy for Libya on November 17, replacing Bernardino Leon of Spain. Although Leon led a noble effort during almost a year of laborious negotiations, the proposal that Leon ultimately made – a power-sharing deal under which Libya would be governed by a nine-member presidential council made up of a prime minister, five deputy premiers and three senior ministers – was roundly rejected by both houses and by Libyans who demonstrated against the Leon proposal.

It was at that moment that we, as the representatives of Libya’s parliament and its Tripoli-based General National Congress, decided to come together to craft our own agreement based on the Roosevelt-Churchill principles of nation-building.

We have reached our agreement at a critical moment, just as international security experts are warning that the Daesh jihadist group has enhanced its presence in the Libyan coastal city of Sirte. The leadership of both of our houses is absolutely committed to forging a strong security alliance with the United States and the international community to eradicate the terrorist scourge.

But, despite our agreement, we cannot make progress without the strong support of the international community – including especially the United Nations and the United States. This coming weekend, Italian Foreign Minister Paolo Gentiloni will be hosting an international conference on Libya, aimed at containing Daesh (ISIS) and stopping the disintegration of our country. Now that we have reached this important agreement, we call upon the international community to wholeheartedly embrace Libya’s own right to self-determination under a unified government.

We are already seeing important signs of the international support that we will need. The Tunisian president, Beji Caid Essebsi, has fully endorsed this historic agreement and swiftly invited the delegation to the Tunisian presidential palace to embrace Libyan leadership finally reaching peace. The following day, UN Special Envoy Kobler paid a visit to both signatories to the agreement at which he congratulated them for reaching this auspicious moment and encouraged their rapid consummation of the Unity Government Agreement in the coming days. In addition, the French Defense Minister, Jean-Yves Le Drian, has said “that if we are able to combine Tripoli forces together the Tobruk militia" – something that our agreement would make possible – "Daesh could not possibly defeat these significant and experienced united forces”.

For our part, we are already taking vital steps to implement our agreement. Both houses have already named their interim president and two deputy prime ministers, who are part of the group that has worked tirelessly over the last three months to bring this momentous negotiation to a favorable conclusion.

Now, we respectfully call upon the international community to support our efforts in the prosperous rebirth of our nation.

Emmesh is chairman of the National Reconciliation Committee in the House of Representatives. AbdulSadig is first deputy head of the Tripoli-based General National Congress and chairman of the Negotiation Committee of the General National Congress.