S/2020/529 Security Council

I have the honour to enclose herewith a copy of the briefing provided by Ambassador Marc Pecsteen de Buytswerve, Permanent Representative of Belgium, in his capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), concerning Somalia, in connection with the video-teleconference on the situation in Somalia, convened on Tuesday, 9 June 2020. A statement was also delivered by the representative of Somalia. In accordance with the procedure set out in the letter dated 7 May 2020 from the President of the Security Council addressed to the Permanent Representatives of the members of the Security Council (S/2020/372), which was agreed in the light of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, these statements will be issued as an official document of the Security Council.

As mandated by paragraph 11 (g) of resolution 1844 (2008), I have the honour of briefing the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), concerning Somalia, covering the period from 28 February 2020 to 9 June 2020. During the reporting period, Committee members met twice in the “informal informals” format via closed video-teleconference. On 29 April, members met to hear a briefing by the United Nations Mine Action Service (UNMAS), in which officials from the Federal Government of Somalia and the Panel of Experts also participated. On 27 May, they met to hear a presentation by the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts on the Panel’s mid-term update and to share initial views on the recommendations contained therein. In addition to the submission of the mid-term update, since my last briefing, the Panel has also submitted two monthly updates to the Committee. During the informal discussion of 29 April and through documents shared with the Committee, UNMAS briefed the Committee on, inter alia, improvised explosive device (IED) trends in Somalia and recommendations on the implementation of the newly imposed IED-components ban. With respect to Al-Shabaab’s increased use of homemade explosives since 2018, UNMAS stated the view that the continued effort to clear mines and unexploded remnants of war across Somalia had seemed to reduce the group’s access to military-grade explosives, thus apparently triggering a shift away from military-grade explosives. If the current chemicals used for Al-Shabaab’s homemade explosives were to become scarce, the group would shift to other sources of explosive materials or precursors, possibly through illicit smuggling. UNMAS encouraged the development of a coordinated approach to controlling the supply of IED components via regional bodies and agreements, as well as donor support for strengthening the Somali National Army, to counter the IED threat. UNMAS also recommended continued sensitization of Member States with respect to their obligations under the sanctions regime for Somalia. Earlier, the Committee had also tasked the Panel of Experts with preparing a draft implementation assistance notice that would provide guidance to all Member States on the implementation of the IED components ban. In her statement prepared for the informal discussion of 27 May, the Coordinator of the Panel of Experts highlighted four key areas of the Panel’s midterm update: the reset in relations with the Federal Government of Somalia; the threat posed by Al-Shabaab, including the group’s financial flows; the ban on the export of charcoal from Somalia; and potential consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic. I would like to emphasize in this context that during the informal discussion, the Committee members welcomed the resumption of cooperation and collaboration between the Federal Government of Somalia and the Panel and stated that they looked forward to the return of all Panel members to Somalia once the COVID-19 travel restrictions had been lifted. The Committee is currently considering the six recommendations contained in the Panel’s mid-term update. Broadly speaking, these pertain to threats to peace and security in Somalia, particularly Al-Shabaab’s military and financial capabilities; the implementation of the arms embargo through further improvements in weapons and ammunition management; and international humanitarian law issues, including strengthening the protection of civilians.In a previous briefing (see S/PV.8735), I referred to a letter received from a Member State on confidentiality issues, for which a reply was still pending. The Committee dispatched the reply in the current reporting period. In the period, the Committee also received another letter, which made reference to the work of the predecessor of the Panel of Experts, the Somalia and Eritrea Monitoring Group, which it is currently considering. I will now summarize the statistics on arms embargo exemption requests and notifications. The Committee approved an exemption request pursuant to paragraphs 10 and 13 of resolution 2498 (2019), submitted by the Federal Government of Somalia. Pursuant to paragraphs 11 and 13 of the same resolution, the Committee received six advance delivery notifications from the Federal Government of Somalia, and pursuant to paragraphs 11 and 14 of the resolution it received an advance delivery notification from the supplying Member State. The Committee further received two post-delivery notifications pursuant to paragraph 16 of the resolution, submitted by the Federal Government of Somalia. Lastly, the Committee received an advance delivery notification from a supplying Member State in accordance with paragraph 17 of the resolution. Finally, following the resignation of a member of the Panel of Experts owing to personal and professional considerations, a new expert was appointed by the Secretary-General on 29 May 2020.

Allow me to begin by commending the Permanent Representative of France, Ambassador Nicolas de Rivière, for his leadership as the President of the Security Council during this month of June 2020. I would also like to take this opportunity to thank the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) for his briefing. I am pleased by the Committee’s commitment to the ideals of confidentiality and accountability. The Somali Government has taken great initial steps to re-establish relations with the Panel of Experts on Somalia, but in order to fully restore trust and confidence between the Panel of Experts and the Federal Government of Somalia, additional measures, including efforts aimed at resolving pending matters, are necessary. These pending matters include issues that we have already raised several times with the Chair and the sanctions committee. We are looking forward to a new proposed course of action to be undertaken by the Panel of Experts, as described in the November 2019 correspondence addressed to the Federal Government of Somalia.