S/PV.7731 Security Council

As this is the first formal meeting of the Council for the month of July, I should like to take this opportunity to pay tribute, on behalf of the Council, to His Excellency Ambassador François Delattre, Permanent Representative of France, for his service as President of the Council for the month of June. I am sure I speak for all members of the Council in expressing deep appreciation to Ambassador Delattre and his delegation for the great diplomatic skill with which they conducted the Council’s business last month. Adoption of the agenda

In accordance with rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure, I invite the representative of Somalia to participate in this meeting. The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. Members of the Council have before them document S/2016/591, which contains the text of a draft resolution submitted by Angola, France, Japan, New Zealand, Spain, Ukraine, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and the United States of America. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to document S/2016/430, which contains the report of the Secretary-General on Somalia. The Council is ready to proceed to the vote on the draft resolution before it. I shall put the draft resolution to the vote now.

The draft resolution received 15 votes in favour. The draft resolution has been adopted unanimously as resolution 2297 (2016). I now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements after the voting.

My delegation voted in favour of resolution 2297 (2016), reauthorizing the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), as we believe in the important role it plays in support of the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia through the efforts and sacrifices its personnel have made since 2007. My delegation affirms that the positive developments witnessed in Somalia could not have been achieved without those efforts to provide an environment conducive to the ongoing political efforts of all parties in that country. Those efforts have energized international support for the political process and allowed the Security Council to send a clear message through its visit to Somalia in May concerning the importance of concluding the electoral process as soon as possible. The timing of that visit was highly instrumental in supporting the reconciliation process and facilitating the adoption of the electoral calendar for 2016. In that context, I commend the efforts of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, his Prime Minister and Government, and all federal leaders to adopt the electoral model and launch the procedural and logistical arrangements for its implementation. My delegation affirms its support for the peace and reconciliation efforts in Somalia and urges all parties to build on their achievements in order to end the prolonged conflict and to support the Somali President’s call for the coordination of support, in particular in training and capacity-building for Somalia’s national institutions so that the Government can assume responsibility for ensuring peace and security. We also support the Secretary-General’s cooperation with the African Union with a view to undertaking a joint assessment of AMISOM in support of the next phase of State-building in Somalia. We appreciate all efforts being made to that end.

I congratulate Japan on its assumption of the Council presidency, and thank France for its very efficient running of the Council’s business last month. I should like to take this opportunity to join Egypt in paying tribute to the role of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). As we review the AMISOM mandate, we should remember that without the bravery and sacrifice of its troops, Somalia would not have seen the progress which it has made. It is essential that we ensure that AMISOM troop contributors commit for at least the next two years, because that progress can easily be undone. It is equally important that the Federal Government of Somalia deliver on its commitment to building credible security forces, not only to address the legitimate concerns of AMISOM troop contributors, but also to ensure that peace and security in Somalia are secured for the long term. Without that, all our efforts on elections and the Somali political process will have been wasted. We are grateful for all of the engagement and support of partners in preparing a draft text and in working on its details. We will work hard to provide clear direction and prioritization to AMISOM’s tasks in this critical year. That means liberating the Somali people from the threat of Al-Shabaab through deliberate operations, enabling the security environment needed for the electoral process to take place, as the representative of Egypt rightly emphasized, and supporting the gradual hand-over of security responsibilities to the Somali security forces, which must be the overarching objective of us all. Progress in Somalia is about partnership, and in that partnership we need every organization and stakeholder — the international community, the United Nations, donors, the African Union and the Federal Government of Somalia itself — to play its part. That cooperation will enable AMISOM to leave Somalia in a stronger and more secure place than when it first deployed, and it will provide long-term regional security. We will therefore continue to support AMISOM and the essential work that the force is doing, as the Council has just shown by its unanimous vote today.

China voted in favour of resolution 2297 (2016). The Somali peace process is currently at a critical juncture. Holding general elections in August, as scheduled, will establish conditions conducive to Somalia’s achievement of peace, stability and development as soon as possible. The Council visited Somalia in May, and today it unanimously adopted a resolution extending the mandate of the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), demonstrating the international community’s commitment to helping the Federal Government of Somalia to take the political process forward, uproot the threat posed by Al-Shabaab, and expedite the country’s peaceful reconstruction. China is grateful to the African Union and the countries of the region, which have consistently made great contributions and sacrifices in order to maintain the security and stability of Somalia. China hopes that, in the light of the demands of the countries of the region, the international community will help Somalia and AMISOM to strengthen their capacity-building, and in particular provide the Mission with consistent and stable logistical support and give Somalia robust assistance in advancing the political process and promoting economic and social development.