S/2021/260 Security Council

In accordance with the procedure agreed upon by the members of the Security Council in the light of the extraordinary circumstances caused by the coronavirus disease pandemic, as set out in the letter dated 27 March 2020 from the President of the Security Council addressed to all members of the Council (S/2020/253), I would like to draw your attention to the following. The members of the Council have discussed a draft resolution, submitted by the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, in connection with the agenda item “The situation in Somalia”. That draft resolution, contained in document S/2021/243 and enclosed herein, has been put into blue. In my capacity as President of the Security Council, I hereby put the above- mentioned draft resolution to a vote. The non-extendable 24-hour voting period for this draft resolution will begin at 2.30 p.m. on Thursday, 11 March 2021. The non-extendable 24-hour voting period will expire at 2.30 p.m. on Friday, 12 March 2021. Please submit your vote (in favour, against or abstain) on the draft resolution, as well as your possible explanation of vote, by sending a letter signed by the Permanent Representative or Chargé d’affaires a.i. within the non-extendable 24- hour voting period set out above to the Officer-in-Charge of the Security Council Affairs Division in the United Nations Secretariat (sutterlin@un.org). It is my intention to circulate a letter listing the outcome of the vote within three hours of the conclusion of the 24-hour voting period. I also intend to convene a video-teleconference of the Security Council to announce the outcome of the vote shortly after the conclusion of the voting period, on the afternoon of Friday, 12 March 2021.

As Somalia is currently in a critical period of national reconstruction and is facing many challenges in terms of its security situation, the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) remains indispensable. China supports the extension of the mandate of AMISOM by the Security Council and voted in favour of resolution 2568 (2021), on its extension. We support the Somali Government’s gradual assumption of the primary responsibility for maintaining security and stability in Somalia and call on the international community to step up its efforts to help the Somali Government strengthen its capacity-building. AMISOM is an African Union-owned peacekeeping operation authorized by the Security Council. China hopes that the United Nations, the African Union, AMISOM troop-contributing countries and the countries concerned will intensify their communication and coordination on the future arrangements for AMISOM in accordance with the principle of “Somali ownership and leadership”, take into account each other’s concerns and work together to maintain peace and stability in Somalia.

The role of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) in providing an enabling security environment for Somalia’s progress cannot be overstated. AMISOM has been playing a key role in containing Al-Shabaab in Somalia for several years now. This is important not just for Somalia but for the wider Horn of Africa region. Given the political and security developments in Somalia in recent months, it is all the more important for the international community to relay its confidence in AMISOM. We commend all AMISOM troop- and police-contributing countries for their commitment and sacrifices. In that spirit, we voted in favour of resolution 2568 (2021), adopted today and extending AMISOM’s mandate until 31 December 2021. Among other things, the resolution envisages a phased handover of security to Somali security forces commencing in 2021, with a view to transferring full responsibility by 2023, if the situation on the ground allows. I would like to underline that the situation on the ground should guide the reconfiguration process. In its 8 February communiqué, the African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council supported the renewal of AMISOM’s mandate for 10 months. In that regard, we reiterate that future discussions on the Mission’s reconfiguration need take into account the conclusions of the AU’s independent assessment, scheduled for later this year. Let me also underline that the reconfigured AMISOM beyond December 2021 should not be limited by funding constraints. The Security Council needs to secure future funding arrangements for AMISOM and may need to consider United Nations assessed contributions for that purpose.S/2021/260

The African members of the Security Council — the Niger, South Africa and Tunisia, as well as Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (A3+1) — decided to vote in favour of resolution 2568 (2021) because of the overarching need for unity of purpose within the Security Council and to demonstrate solidarity with the men and women serving under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). However, the A3+1 deeply regrets the way the process has been conducted. Our position as Security Council members has been guided by our recognition of the African Union (AU) as a key stakeholder in this process, by virtue of the Charter of the United Nations, and because of AMISOM’s crucial actions, undertaken at a great cost — fallen peacekeepers from troop-contributing countries. Rather than pay tribute to that contribution and its expression of continental solidarity with the Government and the people of Somalia, as well as its pivotal importance for the fulfilment of the Security Council’s mandate, the process leading to resolution 2568 (2021) took a different approach. The African Union, its role and mandate must be given due regard. The A3+1 was not properly consulted on the initial draft resolution on the situation in Somalia. The resolution we adopted today is far from ideal, although it was much improved following the constructive input of the A3+1 on the basis of the communiqué issued by the AU Peace and Security Council on 9 February 2021 and the support of Member States for some of our proposals. Nevertheless, the A3+1 remains disappointed that some of our proposals were rejected without a convincing explanation, or any at all. In particular, the request to include a reference to United Nations assessed contributions as one of the possibilities to be considered as a means to respond to the agreed need to enhance the predictability, sustainability and flexibility of financing for AMISOM was not reflected in all the drafts — despite the fact that this proposal was not met with any objection or reservation by any delegation during the two rounds of negotiations. It is worth recalling that the Council-mandated independent assessment report, circulated in January, concluded that a reconfigured AMISOM is the most viable option for providing an international security operation in support of Somalia and that the optimal solution to fund it would be United Nations assessed contributions. This matter should therefore be given full consideration ahead of any future Mission reconfiguration. The A3+1 echoes the position of the AU Peace and Security Council — that the African Union must play a leadership role in determining the future of its Mission to Somalia throughout the transition. It is our sincere hope that the implementation of this resolution will be marked by meaningful consultations, cooperation and collaboration among the Council, the AU and other partners in a common endeavour to stabilize Somalia by substantively degrading terrorist groups in order to restore peace and security to the people of Somalia. The Council and the penholder, in particular, must listen more intently to the host country, the African Union, and the troop-contributing countries that have paid the ultimate price for the security and stability of Somalia. We believe that the process calls for all members of the Council to rethink the penholder system and to recognize it and its operating methods as outmoded and increasingly at odds with managing global peace and security.The A3+1 assures the people and the leadership of Somalia of our commitment to their peace and security. The transition that AMISOM will undertake with the security services of the Government of Somalia will only succeed in delivering peace and security if it ensures national unity and inclusiveness.

The United Kingdom welcomes the unanimous adoption of resolution 2568 (2021), which enables the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) to continue its vital security support to Somalia in 2021 while creating the space for a constructive conversation among all partners about the shape of a future mission. The long-standing deadline of the end of 2021 for the Somali authorities to take on the greater security responsibility from AMISOM represents an important step forward in our shared objective to build long-term security and stability in Somalia. It is an opportunity to recognize the success that AMISOM has had in helping to rebuild Somali capacity while acknowledging the continued need for the African Union to provide security support. The United Kingdom thanks Security Council members for their engagement on this resolution, which is a product of extensive consultation with all members of the Council, Somalia and the African Union. The resolution is balanced with regard to the central issues, takes into account a wide range of views and reflects consensus. It sets out a 10-month time frame to build on existing efforts towards achieving security transition objectives, including the development of a revised Somali transition plan and the publication of the United Nations-led independent assessment on future support to Somali security. In addition, it clearly outlines what more is required, including the importance of a clear steer from the African Union on its objectives for a future mission. Our role as penholder is to consult and to bridge gaps where they appear in order to achieve consensus. We consulted widely and inclusively while drafting the resolution and throughout the four-week negotiating process. We acknowledge that consensus has proven challenging on the issue of United Nations assessed contributions. We emphasize that the resolution does not rule anything out and creates time and space for all Council members to continue discussing this issue. As we all know, Somalia is at a critical juncture. For 14 years, AMISOM has played a central role in enabling peace and security in Somalia. We commend the brave troops and police of AMISOM for their work. Today the Security Council has come together to adopt a resolution that sends a strong signal of support to Somalia.

Allow me to congratulate you, Madam, on your presidency of the Security Council for March. We are confident in your leadership and wish you every success in the fulfilment your mandate. We welcome the renewal of the reauthorization of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) for a period of 10 months — until the end of 2021. Over the past few months, the Federal Government of Somalia and our partners conducted an extensive review of the Somali transition plan through a consultative and inclusive process. The revised transition plan is the result of a Somali-owned and -led process to determine the security transition priorities of Somalia through to the end of 2023 via joint endeavours of the Federal Government of Somalia, federal member states and international partners. We commend the strong commitment of our partners, in particular the efforts made by the Somali security forces and AMISOM personnel, who have been at the forefront in the fight against Al-Shabaab. We recognize and pay tribute to the bravery and sacrifices made by AMISOM personnel, who have fought for lasting peace and stability in Somalia. Despite the significant gains we have made in the fight against Al-Shabaab, we stress that it is essential that the sacrifices made in the past decade or so are not wasted. In that regard, the revised Somali transition plan sets out the commitment of Somalia to build on the progress made thus far by AMISOM and our Somali security forces by progressively taking on security responsibilities. As articulated in the revised Somali transition plan, our Government’s strategic vision is for a phased, multi-year, conditions-based and sustainable approach to counter Al-Shabaab, build the core security functions of Somalia and sustainably recover strategic locations, which will allow for the transfer of security responsibilities from AMISOM to the Somali security forces. Al-Shabaab cannot be defeated through military means alone. The Somali transition plan consists, therefore, of three core strategic pillars: operations, institutional capacity-building and supporting activities. We call on our partners to support the Federal Government of Somalia in delivering this strategic plan in a coordinated manner. The Federal Government strongly believes that the plan can be executed successfully only if AMISOM’s mandate is renewed in full until the end of 2021 in order to enable the Mission to support the security transition operations, as outlined in the revised Somali transition plan, to secure and stabilize prioritized population centres and main supple routes and to provide high-end capability support to the Somali security forces. In that regard, we are looking forward to the reconfiguration of AMISOM’s force to support a more offensive operational posture built around agile, mobile and resilient forces that can adapt to the existing and evolving threats posed by Al-Shabaab. Our end state is therefore very clear: AMISOM must evolve into an African Union-led transition mission with a mandate beginning in 2022. We envision a transition mission with a presence across all sectors by the end of 2022. The mission should aim to play a supporting and enabling role through the provision of mobile forces and high-end capabilities, such as engineering, as well as through the mentoring and training of Somali security forces. In conclusion, as we enter a critical moment in Somalia’s history, we invite our partners and friends to support our strategic plan in order to pave the way for our S/2021/260 S/2021/260 Somali security forces to progressively assume full responsibility for security across the whole of Somalia by the end of 2023.