S/PV.8885 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. I wish to draw the attention of Council members to documents S/2021/847 and S/2021/849, which contain letters dated 5 October 2021 from the Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), concerning Somalia, addressed to the President of the Security Council. At this meeting, the Council will hear a briefing by Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, Permanent Representative of Ireland, in her capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), concerning Somalia. I now give the floor to Ambassador Byrne Nason.

As mandated by paragraph 11 (g) of resolution 1844 (2008), I have the honour to brief the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), concerning Somalia. This briefing will cover the period from 15 June to 20 October 2021. I would like to begin by noting that the Committee held back-to-back informal consultations on 1 October. During the first meeting, the Committee heard a briefing by the Panel of Experts on Somalia on its final report. I will not summarize the content of the report, as it was recently issued as document S/2021/849. Eight of the 16 recommendations in the report are addressed to the Council. The remaining eight are currently under consideration by the Committee. During the discussion, Committee members expressed support for the work of the Panel of Experts and posed questions in relation to various aspects of the Panel’s reporting. Panel members responded to provide clarifications. During the second meeting, the Committee heard a briefing by the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) on the report of the Emergency Relief Coordinator (see S/2021/847) on the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia and any impediments thereto. In their interventions, Committee members expressed appreciation for the efforts undertaken by OCHA and its partners in Somalia and supported the continuation of the humanitarian carveout to the assets-freeze measures. The Committee issued a press release following the two meetings (SC/14660). During my previous briefing (see S/PV.8796), I informed the Security Council that the Committee was considering the six recommendations contained in the mid-term update of the Panel of Experts. Follow- up action to all six recommendations was agreed upon and, in that connection, the Committee dispatched two letters to Somalia covering issues related to the updating of the sanctions list, possible adjustments to the arms embargo, combating violations of international humanitarian law and international human rights law by various actors, including the commission of sexual and gender-based violence, and countering Al-Shabaab financing. I would also like to note that the Committee agreed to a Chair’s proposal to invite Ms. Pramila Patten, Special Representative of the Secretary-General on Sexual Violence in Conflict, to brief the Committee at a future date. Since my previous briefing, the Committee also received a first thematic report from the Panel of Experts, focusing on weapons and ammunition management in Somalia. The Committee received a letter from Somalia concerning air strikes and shelling conducted inside Somalia and a letter from a Member State reporting the seizure of a shipment of potassium nitrate destined for Somalia, an item mentioned in Annex C, part II, of resolution 2551 (2020). The Committee wrote to the reporting State, as well as to the reported State of origin of the shipment, seeking additional information. The reported State of origin replied to the Committee. In addition, the Committee responded to a prior letter from Somalia concerning a former Coordinator of the Panel of Experts. The Committee received a listing proposal from a Member State, consideration of which is ongoing. The Committee also received a proposal from the Secretariat regarding the nomination of a sixth expert to serve on the Panel of Experts. Consideration of that proposal in the Committee has not yet concluded. With regard to arms embargo exemption requests and notifications, the Committee approved two requests, pursuant to paragraph 10 of resolution 2551 (2020) — one from Somalia and the other from a supplying State. The Committee received six advance delivery notifications — two from Somalia and four from supplying States, pursuant to paragraph 11 of the same resolution, and three notifications pursuant to paragraph 17. The Committee also received an advance delivery notification invoking paragraph 12 of resolution 2551 (2021) by a supplying State, which it stands ready to consider once some additional information has been received. Furthermore, the Committee received one post-delivery notification from Somalia, pursuant to paragraph 16 of resolution 2551 (2020), and a copy of the biannual report by Somalia requested in paragraph 37 of resolution 2551 (2020). Lastly, the Committee received an arms-embargo query from a Member State — a State of transit — and a notification from a Member State seeking to transfer medical supplies via military cargo flight. The Committee replied to both communications.

I thank Ambassador Byrne Nason for her briefing.