SLSUN: The Security Council is to convene a meeting to vote on a draft resolution, authored by the UK (the penholder on Somalia), regarding the successor mission to the African Union (AU) Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS). The mission’s mandate was last extended by resolution 2748 of 15 August until 31 December 2024. Ethiopia and Somalia are expected to participate in the meeting under rule 37 of the Council’s provisional rules of procedure.
The draft resolution in blue endorses the decision of the AU Peace and Security Council (AUPSC) to replace ATMIS with the AU Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) and authorises AU members to take all necessary measures in this regard for 12 months, beginning on 1 January 2025. The draft text further authorises AU members to deploy up to 12,626 uniformed personnel, including 1,040 police personnel, to AUSSOM until 30 June 2025, and to complete by this date the realignment of all AU troops from ATMIS to AUSSOM.
Background
Pursuant to resolution 2748, UN Secretary-General António Guterres submitted an AU-UN joint report to Council members on 26 November, which is not a public document. The report emphasised that the framework established under resolution 2719 of 21 December 2023, concerning the financing of AU-led peace support operations (AUPSOs), presents a critical opportunity to institute a sustainable financing model for AUSSOM. It underscored the importance of making Somalia the first test case for this framework to prevent a security vacuum, that could destabilise Somalia and the broader region, and to consolidate the security gains achieved to date.
The report recommended “hybrid” implementation of resolution 2719 with streamlined responsibilities between the AU and the UN. This would entail applying the 2719 framework to the AUSSOM budget, with 75 percent funded through UN assessed contributions, and priority given to covering troop reimbursements in full. The remaining 25 percent would be mobilised by the AU and the UN as extra-budgetary resources, with the AU funding civilian personnel costs. Regarding logistical support to AUSSOM, it recommended a reconfigured and a rightsized UN support office, financed through UN assessed contributions. Through this model of financing, the application of the new mission-specific rate of $1,000 for per capita troop allowances would be offset by the cost of the reconfigured UN support office. (For background and more information, see the brief on Somalia in our August 2024 Monthly Forecast and 15 August What’s in Blue story.)
Read the full report HERE
