S/PV.9768 Security Council

The Security Council will now begin its consideration of the item on its agenda. At this meeting, the Security Council will hear a briefing by Ambassador Kazuyuki Yamazaki, Permanent Representative of Japan to the United Nations and Chair of the Security Council Committee established pursuant to resolution 2713 (2023), concerning Al-Shabaab. I now give the floor to Ambassador Yamazaki. Mr. Yamazaki: As mandated by paragraph 31 of resolution 2713 (2023), I have the honour to brief the Security Council in my capacity as Chair of the Security Council Committee pursuant to resolution 2713 (2023), concerning Al-Shabaab, on the Committee’s work covering the period from 1 December 2023 to 28 October 2024. I would like to begin by recalling that, with the adoption of resolutions 2713 (2023) and 2714 (2023), on 1 December 2023, the Security Council imposed an arms embargo focused on Al-Shabaab and, recognizing the progress made against the weapons and ammunition management benchmarks endorsed in resolution 2662 (2022), decided to lift the arms embargo in relation to the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia and the Somali national armed forces. Exemptions are in place for Somalia’s federal member states and regional governments and for licensed private security companies operating in Somalia. By resolution 2713 (2023), the Council also changed the name of the Committee and of the Panel of Experts. I would now like to provide Council members with an overview of the activities of the Committee since 1 December 2023. Since then, the Committee has met four times in informal consultations, namely, on 16 February, 1 July, 4 October and 11 October. During the Committee’s informal consultations on 16 February, the members of the Panel of Experts pursuant to resolution 2713 (2023) presented their plan of work for the coming months and engaged in an exchange of views with Committee members. On 1 July, the Panel members presented the main findings contained in their comprehensive midterm update. The Panel’s presentation covered a number of areas, including the various ways in which Al-Shabaab continues to pose the most significant threat to peace and security in Somalia, the finances of the group, the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) faction in Puntland and the efforts of the Government of the Federal Republic of Somalia in the area of weapons and ammunition management. Committee members also discussed the three recommendations contained in the Panel’s comprehensive midterm update and subsequently agreed on two letters and one note verbale in that regard. During the Committee’s informal consultations on 4 October, its members were briefed by representatives of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). The OCHA briefing covered the humanitarian situation in Somalia and the delivery of humanitarian assistance to Somalia, including impediments to its delivery. OCHA also informed that it had not received any report of provision, processing or payment of funds, other financial assets or economic resources to, or for the benefit of, designated individuals or entities, as part of the delivery of humanitarian assistance and other activities that support basic human needs in accordance with resolution 2664 (2022), as well as of any diversion of funds or economic resources, and informed on risk management and due diligence processes in place. UNODC briefing focused on UNODC’s efforts in support of the implementation of resolution 2713 (2023), including in the areas of disrupting Al-Shabaab’s finances, implementing the Council’s charcoal ban and preventing the resurgence of piracy off Somalia’s coast. On 11 October, the subject of the Committee’s informal consultations was the final report of the Panel of Experts and the 18 recommendations contained therein, of which 15 are currently under consideration by the Committee. In its presentation, the Panel covered topics such as weapons and ammunition management in Somalia; Al-Shabaab’s finances and use of improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in complex and asymmetric attacks; the activities of ISIL Somalia in Puntland; piracy off Somalia’s coast; humanitarian, as well as international humanitarian law, issues; and the implementation of the one-off exemption to the Council’s charcoal ban. On 6 February, the Committee issued its fourth implementation assistance notice, which is entitled “Guidance to Member States on the application of the humanitarian exemption established by resolution 2664 (2022) to the assets freeze established under resolution 1844 (2008)”. On 21 May, the Committee approved the addition of three individuals to its sanctions list. During the reporting period, the Committee received two notifications pursuant to paragraph 19 (b) of resolution 2713 (2023), related to the restrictions on components that may be used in the manufacture of IEDs.

I thank Ambassador Yamazaki for his briefing.