Somalia: Vote on AUSSOM Mandate Renewal*
Tomorrow morning (23 December), the Security Council is expected to vote on a draft resolution extending the authorisation of the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) for another year, until 31 December 2026.
The UK, the penholder on Somalia, circulated an initial draft of the resolution on 11 December and convened one round of negotiations on 15 December. It then circulated a revised draft on 16 December and requested members to submit comments. A further revised version was then placed under silence procedure until the afternoon of 17 December. The “A3 Plus” grouping (Algeria, Sierra Leone, Somalia, and Guyana) subsequently broke silence over several aspects of the text. As disagreements persisted, the vote, which was initially scheduled for 19 December, was postponed to allow more time for discussions among Council members. Over the weekend, the UK revised the draft and placed it under silence procedure until this morning (22 December). The A3 Plus members again broke silence, reiterating their positions. The penholder then made further revisions to the text and put it directly in blue.
Background
Resolution 2767 of 27 December 2024, which authorised the deployment of AUSSOM, tasked the UN, jointly with the African Union (AU) and the Somali government, to undertake regular joint technical assessments of progress made, including against the benchmarks outlined in the AU-UN joint report of 26 November 2024. These assessments are meant to inform the Council’s decisions on the authorisation of AUSSOM’s subsequent phases. The benchmarks outlined in the 2024 joint report—which is not a public document—include: (i) preparation and planning for the transition of the AU Transition Mission in Somalia (ATMIS) to AUSSOM; (ii) AUSSOM support to Somali Security Forces (SSF) offensive operations; (iii) the progressive extension of Federal Government of Somalia (FGS) authority across areas recovered from Al-Shabaab; and (iv) enhanced AUSSOM and SSF accountability and compliance with international human rights law (IHRL) and international humanitarian law (IHL).
The technical assessment report, which was submitted to the Council on 29 October, is not a public document. It apparently includes an updated exit strategy developed by the Somali government and the AU, which provides the framework for the phased, time-bound, performance-related and conditions-based drawdown of AUSSOM and the full transfer of security responsibilities to the SSF.
Negotiations on the Draft Resolution
The draft resolution in blue extends AUSSOM’s authorisation until 31 December 2026, with the continued deployment of 11,826 uniformed personnel, inclusive of 680 police personnel. In the face of intensified attacks by Al-Shabaab, the draft text underscores the need to provide additional support to AUSSOM and the SSF to bolster the fight against the group, urging traditional and new donors to provide funding to AUSSOM to enable the full implementation of its mandate.
The draft text in blue takes note of the 29 October joint assessment report and requests the UN, in coordination with the AU and the Somali government and in consultation with donors, to continue undertaking regular joint technical assessments against the benchmarks and update the Council on the progress made by 31 October 2026.
It seems that the penholder streamlined the text this year, removing several reporting requirements, a section on AUSSOM financing, and thematic language on issues such as women, peace and security (WPS) and IHL.
The negotiations were apparently difficult, with Council members holding divergent views on several issues, including references to the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS). The mission is currently implementing a two-year, phased transition of its functions to the UN Country Team (UNCT) in Somalia. Resolution 2753 of 30 October 2024, which authorised UNTMIS’ mandate, expressed the Council’s intention, informed by the conditions on the ground, to conclude UNTMIS’ two-phase transition by 31 October 2026. It also expressed the Council’s intention to review the progress of UNTMIS’ transition by 31 October.
In line with resolution 2753, the UK apparently sought in October to pursue a Council product on the second phase of UNTMIS’ transition. However, Somalia apparently did not support the proposal, and as a result, the Council did not adopt any product, leaving the issue unaddressed, as the Council had not pronounced itself on the second phase of UNTMIS’ transition.
It appears that the penholder sought to address UNTMIS’ transition in AUSSOM’s mandate renewal resolution and included language in the draft text on the mission’s termination and related reporting requirements, such as the situation in Somalia and progress in the implementation of UNTMIS’ mandate. However, it seems that the A3 Plus members opposed the inclusion of any reference to UNTMIS in the draft text. They apparently argued that UNTMIS is governed by a separate mandate and that the resolution under negotiation was not the appropriate avenue to address a mission that is already in the process of drawing down. Additionally, it seems that Slovenia, supported by Denmark and France, felt that this is not the appropriate product for the Council to take a definitive decision on UNTMIS’ termination. Slovenia apparently also argued that the mission has more than ten months remaining until its mandate expires and proposed that a separate resolution be considered closer to the end of UNTMIS’ mandate to address its termination and other related modalities.
By contrast, the penholder maintained that formal language was necessary to clarify the future of UNTMIS, given that its mandate had not yet been concluded, and that the Council still needed to pronounce itself on the matter. Eventually, the penholder included provisions related to UNTMIS in the draft resolution in blue, despite the objections raised by other Council members. The draft text in blue decides that UNTMIS shall cease all operations on 31 October 2026 after completing the second phase of its transition, endorses the implementation of the proposed roadmap contained in a 30 September report of the Secretary-General, and calls on the FGS and Somalia’s federal member states to continue cooperating fully with the UN during this process.
The other issue that required extensive discussion related to language on reporting requirements proposed by the penholder in the initial draft, which underwent several iterations in the course of the negotiations. In the initial draft of the text, the penholder apparently proposed that the Secretary-General provide two reports to the Council, one by 31 May 2026 and another by 31 October 2026, addressing four issues:
- the provision of the UN logistical support package to AUSSOM;
- the situation in Somalia;
- progress made in UNTMIS’ transition; and
- relevant aspects of the implementation of this resolution that fall outside of its other reporting requests.
Some members, such as A3 Plus, expressed caution regarding any language that could be interpreted as transferring UNTMIS’ reporting responsibilities to AUSSOM. It appears that the A3 Plus members, together with China and Russia, proposed limiting the Secretary-General’s reporting to relevant aspects of the implementation of the resolution, including the provision of the UN logistical support package to AUSSOM, while excluding reporting on the situation in Somalia, progress in the implementation of UNTMIS’ transition, and aspects falling outside the resolution’s other reporting requirements.
However, European members such as Denmark, France, and Slovenia supported retaining these provisions in the reporting requirement. These members apparently argued that maintaining political reporting obligations is essential to inform future Security Council decisions. They noted that a mission cannot operate effectively without regular reporting on its activities, and that failing to include such requirements could set a problematic precedent for other missions.
In an attempt to reach compromise, the penholder removed in the third revised text phrases opposed by the A3 Plus grouping and other members that in their view imply a reporting requirement on Somalia’s internal situation, while introducing language which requests the Secretary-General to report on financial and operational developments, as well as those relating to coordination, stability and security. The penholder also specified what each of the two reports should include, while keeping the provision of the UN logistical support package as a shared requirement that both reports will address.
As part of his first report, to be submitted by 31 May 2026, the draft resolution in blue requests that the Secretary-General include recommendations on how to adapt the support provided by the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS) to AUSSOM, in light of the financial challenges facing UNSOS due to the UN’s liquidity crisis and the subsequent budgetary reductions implemented to address it. In particular, the text requests that priority be given to sustaining AUSSOM’s capacity to consolidate peace and security gains in Somalia throughout the remaining phases of its concept of operations (CONOPs) implementation. The draft text in blue also requests that the Secretary-General provide an update on the status of voluntary contributions to AUSSOM’s 2025 budget, as well as plans and expectations for resource mobilisation to support the mission’s 2026 budget and future phases of deployment. The European Union (EU) is expected to announce its future contributions to AUSSOM in early 2026.
Regarding the second report, to be submitted by 31 October 2026, the revised text included reporting on national financial and operational developments, as well as developments related to coordination, stability, peace, and security that may have an impact on the Council’s decision-making concerning AUSSOM and the implementation of its mandate. It appears that the A3 Plus members supported language related to AUSSOM’s financial and operational matters, as well as coordination aspects, but opposed the inclusion of the term “national” and references to “stability, peace, and security”, as they interpreted these as implicitly requiring reporting on Somalia’s internal situation. These concerns, among others, led the grouping to break silence for a second time. In the draft text in blue, most of this language was retained, while the terms “national” and “peace” were omitted.
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**Post-script: On 23 December, the Security Council unanimously adopted resolution 2809, renewing the authorisation of the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) until 31 December 2026.
Additionally, the Council decided that the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) shall cease all operations on 31 October 2026, after completing the second phase of its transition, and endorsed the implementation of the roadmap proposed by the Secretary-General in his 30 September report.
