This resolution robustly reinforces the Council’s support to Somalia: UK Statement at the UN Security Council
Explanation of Position delivered by Ambassador James Kariuki, UK Deputy Permanent Representative to the UN, before the vote on AUSSOM.
The African Union Transition Mission in Somalia, ATMIS, has played an irreplaceable role in Somalia’s security and stabilisation. In service of that mission, many of its personnel, and those of its predecessor AMISOM, also paid the highest price. I would like to pay tribute today to their bravery and their sacrifice.
The resolution tabled for adoption today mandates the successor mission to ATMIS, the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, AUSSOM, which will build on ATMIS’s achievements to strengthen stability and security in Somalia.
It is the culmination of a complex negotiation, and we thank all members of the Security Council for their collaborative and consultative approach.
Throughout negotiations, the Council has remained united in its collective determination to continue supporting Somalia in its fight against Al-Shabaab and its efforts to achieve lasting and durable peace and security.
This resolution robustly reinforces the Council’s support to Somalia. It authorises AUSSOM to support Somalia in its fight against Al-Shabaab, strengthen Somalia’s stabilisation efforts, and enable the delivery of humanitarian assistance.
And it prepares the ground for the Council to approve a transformative change to the Mission’s financing in May 2025, with the first anticipated use of the framework established by resolution 2719.
We look forward to continued Council engagement on Somalia into the new year, with renewal of the Al-Shabaab sanctions regime in February, the first round of reporting on UNTMIS and AUSSOM due in March, and a strategic review of UNSOS due by 1 April.