S/PV.9071 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. 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. Ms. 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, covering the period from 25 February 2022 to 21 June 2022. At the outset, I would like to note that since my previous briefing to the Council (see S/PV.8976), the members of the Committee have met twice. On 27 May, they met in the “informal informals” format via closed video-teleconference to hear a briefing by Virginia Gamba de Potgieter, the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict. On 3 June, they met in informal consultations to receive a presentation from the Panel of Experts on Somalia on its midterm update, submitted to the Committee on 29 April, and to discuss the recommendations made. Special Representative Gamba de Potgieter updated the Committee on the trends and patterns of grave violations against children in Somalia, which she reported as being consistently numerous and alarming. She also presented recommendations to the Committee. The members of the Committee expressed support for her work. The Panel of Experts covered arms embargo-related matters, Al-Shabaab finances, humanitarian issues and the case of the export of charcoal involving the vessel MV Fox. The members of the Committee, expressing their appreciation for Panel’s efforts, are currently considering the five recommendations addressed to the Committee in the Panel’s midterm update. I note that on both occasions, the members of the Committee expressed the view that the successful conclusion of the presidential elections presented a renewed opportunity to cooperate and collaborate with the Federal Government on moving forward with important issues that fall under the Committee’s remit. During the reporting period, the Committee communicated with Member States on various matters. The Committee replied to two queries from Egypt on an arms embargo-related matter and wrote to Bosnia and Herzegovina on one aspect, to which it received a reply. The Committee also wrote to Oman concerning the charcoal on board the vessel MV Fox, anchored in the territorial waters of Oman. I will now summarize the statistics with regard to arms-embargo exemption requests and notifications. The Committee received and approved two advance approval requests pursuant to paragraph 23 of resolution 2607 (2021). It also received 10 advance-delivery notifications referencing paragraph 24 of the resolution, as well as two post-delivery notifications pursuant to paragraph 32. Furthermore, it received three notifications pursuant to paragraph 27 of resolution 2607 (2021), as well as two notifications that did not reference specific paragraphs. With respect to the arms embargo, I would also like to note that the Committee received the first biannual report of the Federal Government of Somalia pursuant to paragraph 44 of resolution 2607 (2021). With the assistance of the Panel of Experts, the Committee has updated its Implementation Assistance Notice No. 2, which aims to guide Member States on the procedure to follow in submitting approval requests and notifications. In connection with the restrictions on improvised explosive device (IED) components, the Committee received two notifications pursuant to paragraph 10 of resolution 2607 (2021). The Committee has also tasked the Panel of Experts with updating its Implementation Assistance Notice No. 3, which once again is a guide for Member States  — in this case, in ensuring the implementation of the IED component restrictions. Lastly, during the reporting period the Committee also received a thematic report from the Panel of Experts, informing the Committee of a list of individuals of interest to the Panel who in the Panel’s assessment may meet the sanctions designation criteria and about whom the Panel continues to gather information. As this is my last briefing to the Council as Chair of the Committee, I would like to conclude by thanking the members of the Committee for the cooperation they have extended to me in the past year and a half.

I thank Ambassador Byrne Nason for her briefing. As this her last briefing before the Security Council in her capacity as Chair of the Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia, I would like to thank her on behalf of the members of the Security Council for the leadership she has shown and the way she has steered the work of the Committee. Let me also thank Ms. Byrne Nason for her leadership of and dedication to the work of the Committee and your achievements to date. I shall now give the floor to those members of the Council who wish to make statements.

Let me begin by expressing my appreciation to Ambassador Byrne Nason of Ireland for her excellent briefing to the Security Council, as well as her able leadership of the Committee pursuant to resolution 751 (1992) concerning Somalia, which continues to be an important instrument in facilitating peace in Somalia. As always, the briefing gives us much to consider and requires the Council’s substantial engagement in support of the political processes needed to achieve lasting peace in the face of one of the most protracted conflicts on the African continent, with its devastating and destabilizing effects on neighbouring countries and the Horn of Africa in general. Ghana welcomed the positive outcome of the political process in Somalia that resulted in the election of President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud and the subsequent formation of a Government to restore order and security. Those are indeed the twin ingredients needed to engender the economic and judicial reforms that can bring Somalia freedom and prosperity. We are delighted that President Hassan has prioritized the issue of security and is already working to seek support and collaboration from parties willing to contribute to the cause of peace and security in Somalia. Despite the limited but hopeful developments in Somalia, there are continued reasons for concern. Ghana has noted with grave concern the security incidents and deadly attacks in Somalia, most of them attributable to Al-Shabaab, especially those that occurred during the period leading up to the presidential elections, which resulted in more than 17,000 persons fleeing their homes in Somalia’s South-West state. Al-Shabaab’s attacks on troops deployed to the country to restore peace are equally worrying — one example being the incident in May of an attack on a Burundian peacekeepers’ base that resulted in several deaths and injuries. In that regard, we hope that foreign support for the Somalian authorities will help them defeat Al-Shabaab and eventually enable them to take sole responsibility for the safety and security situation of the country in accordance with its transition plan. We are equally worried and alarmed by the consistent reports from the Special Representative of the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict about the high number of grave violations verified in Somalia. Ghana requests that the Security Council and the relevant United Nations entities take the necessary remedial action to curtail the reported cases of almost 3,500 grave and, in some cases, multiple violations involving more than 2,600 children, including more than 600 girls. Ghana finds it appalling and condemns in no uncertain terms the substantial number of violations perpetrated in the recruitment and use of children, especially by Al-Shabaab. Reports of killing, maiming, abductions and attacks on schools and hospitals, as well as about 50 cases of rape and other forms of sexual violence by Al-Shabab and Federal Government forces, is also of great concern, including other reported violations by clan militias and regional forces, including Galmudug forces, Galmudug police, Hirshabelle police Jubaland forces, Jubaland police, Puntland forces, Puntland police, Somaliland forces and Da’esh. We urge all those parties to commit to action plans with the United Nations, notably the 2012 action plans to end and prevent the recruitment, use, killing or maiming of children, as well as the 2019 road map adopted to expedite their implementation at the federal member state level, which also applies to the police. Ghana is also worried about the dire humanitarian situation of conflict-affected children in Somalia, which has been compounded by a highly volatile political and security environment and exacerbated by the coronavirus disease pandemic and recurring floods and droughts related to the climate emergency. We reiterate our call to all stakeholders and humanitarian institutions to donate and facilitate the delivery of food, medicine and other essential services to those in critical need, especially women and children, who are the most vulnerable. In conclusion, I wish to underscore the need for cooperation and unified action within the Council, which is critical to ensuring strict compliance with all the sanctions measures and sustained pressure on all parties to end and prevent all grave violations against children. We also call for continued support for the Federal Government’s efforts to fully implement its existing child-protection commitments and reiterate Ghana’s commitment to help find a lasting solution to the situation in Somalia.

I would like to thank the Permanent Representative of Ireland, Ambassador Geraldine Byrne Nason, for the important information she shared with us in her capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 751 (1992), concerning Somalia. Since she pointed out that this is her last briefing to the Council as Chair of the Committee, I would like to express the very high esteem in which my delegation holds her and our gratitude for the dedication and tact with which she led the work of the Committee. This meeting is being held exactly 37 days after democratic elections in Somalia, in which President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud was elected in a peaceful transfer of power at the end of a long electoral process. In that regard, I would like to reiterate that the smooth operation of the process is paving the way for the necessary cooperation and collaboration that we must maintain with the Federal Government of Somalia. We now hope that the rapid formation by Prime Minister Hamza Abdi Barre of an inclusive Federal Government, with the full, equal and meaningful participation of women, will contribute to advancing the country’s top priorities and promote national reconciliation, all while promoting security and facilitating the transition of international support for security, in line with the 2022 Somalia Transition Plan and the national security mechanism. My country renews its support for the efforts of Special Representative Virginia Gamba de Potgieter and expresses its strong interest in the review of all questions related to sexual violence and all types of abuse, particularly child abuse, in armed conflict. In that connection, we believe that the protection of civilians, including the defence and promotion of rights and the development and well-being of children, should be at the heart of the peace and reconciliation process in Somalia. I also express my country’s appreciation for the efforts made by the Panel of Experts on Somalia, whose recommendations to the Committee in the framework of the midterm review were approved by consensus, in line with our common vision of a peaceful and secure Somalia. Among the recommendation that we most support are those that encourage the Federal Government of Somalia and its partners to make various efforts in order to dry up the finances of Al-Shabaab, including through restrictions and assets seizure, targeting in particular the money that Al-Shabaab considers essential for carrying out its operations. However, let us make no mistake — those efforts will not be effective or successful unless they are supported by information sharing and true cooperation among the Somali Government, neighbouring countries and international partners, in coordination with the members of the Group of Experts. My country reaffirms its conviction that only through the coordinated and concerted efforts of all of Somalia’s international partners can we promote national reconciliation, restore sustainable peace and foster a stable environment that can offer the Somali people the prospects of a prosperous future.