Private Meeting on the African Union Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM)
Tomorrow morning (15 June), the Security Council will convene for a private meeting on the African Union (AU) Support and Stabilization Mission in Somalia (AUSSOM) under the agenda item “The situation in Somalia”. Deputy Special Representative for Somalia and Officer in Charge of the UN Transitional Assistance Mission in Somalia (UNTMIS) Raisedon Zenenga and Special Representative of the AU Commission Chairperson (SRCC) for Somalia and Head of AUSSOM El Hadji Ibrahima Diene are scheduled to brief.
Background
Ahead of the meeting, Somalia apparently questioned the inclusion of a briefing on UNTMIS and expressed a preference that discussions focus on AUSSOM and the operational challenges facing the mission, including persistent funding shortfalls, and the support provided by the UN Support Office in Somalia (UNSOS). In this context, Somalia apparently suggested a briefer from UNSOS or the UN Department of Operational Support (DOS), which oversees UNSOS, expressing concern that an UNTMIS briefer will detract attention from the meeting’s focus on AUSSOM and UNSOS. This position also reflects Somalia’s broader reluctance to have the Council engage on ongoing domestic political developments in the country. It appears that the other “A3” members, namely the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) and Liberia, supported Somalia’s position.
On the other hand, it seems that the UK (the penholder on Somalia) and some other Council members maintained that a briefing from UNTMIS is in line with the provisions of resolution 2809 of 23 December 2025, which last renewed AUSSOM’s authorisation. That resolution requested the Secretary-General to submit a report that provides updates on resource mobilisation towards AUSSOM’s budget; recommendations for appropriate adaptations to the support provided by UNSOS to AUSSOM; and information on relevant aspects of the implementation of the resolution, including the provision of the UN logistical support package. On 29 May, the Secretary-General submitted to the Council this report, which covers developments between 24 December 2025 and 22 May.
Colombia, the Council’s president in June, eventually decided to keep Zenenga as a briefer at the meeting. It apparently agreed that the meeting should focus on AUSSOM, UNSOS’s logistical support to AUSSOM, and the issues covered in resolution 2809 but also conveyed its view that Zenenga is an appropriate briefer for the meeting, citing several precedential considerations. It seems that, among other reasons, Colombia noted that reports such as the one submitted pursuant to resolution 2809 are customarily presented by the most senior UN representative responsible for the UN’s presence in the country, a role currently fulfilled by Zenenga in Somalia.
It seems that Somalia and the other A3 members are still uncomfortable with the inclusion of an UNTMIS briefer and may raise the issue at tomorrow’s meeting.
Tomorrow’s Meeting
Zenenga is expected to brief on the findings of the Secretary-General’s 29 May report, which also include an update on the transition of the UN presence in Somalia. The report cautioned that UNTMIS’ transition is taking place amid growing divisions among Somali stakeholders regarding the country’s political trajectory and a constrained resource environment affecting broader international support to Somalia. It highlighted a sharp decline in both core and programmatic funding across all UN entities working in and on Somalia, as well as reductions in direct bilateral support. The report further noted that the successful transfer of several functions envisaged under the roadmap for the second phase of UNTMIS’ transition remains contingent on additional resource mobilisation, warning that some activities could be scaled back or terminated in the absence of further funding.
Zenenga and several Council members may underline the need to ensure a smooth and orderly transition while continuing to support Somalia’s state-building priorities. They may stress the importance of providing adequate resources and capacity-building to Somali institutions, as well as ensuring that the transition reflects the evolving situation on the ground.
Some members may also mention recent political developments at tomorrow’s meeting. The country is facing a political impasse, marked by disputes over constitutional legitimacy, institutional mandates, and Somalia’s electoral trajectory. Current tensions stem from the recent constitutional amendments that extended the mandates of the Federal Parliament and the president by one year beyond their previously scheduled expiry dates of 14 April and 15 May, respectively, and postponed the next elections accordingly. In a 1 June joint statement, several international interlocutors, including France, the UK, UNTMIS, and the European Union (EU), expressed concern about the situation and called on all sides to resume dialogue and to reach consensus on an election roadmap.
On 4 June, clashes erupted in Mogadishu between government forces and armed fighters aligned with opposition figures reportedly ahead of planned demonstrations. At tomorrow’s meeting, some members are likely to call on Somali political stakeholders to resolve their differences through dialogue and compromise and to identify pathways towards a peaceful resolution of the current political impasse. (For background and more information, see the brief on Somalia in our June 2026 Monthly Forecast.)
The Secretary-General’s 29 May report also addressed the financial situation facing UNSOS. It noted that, as part of the implementation of a contingency plan in response to the UN-wide financial crisis, the mission introduced a series of cost-reduction measures across the military, civilian staffing, and operational expenditure budget groups to manage a $130 million funding shortfall. According to the report, the largest reductions were achieved through cuts to operational expenditures, including scaling back civilian aviation assets, delaying military helicopter deployments, reducing mine-action activities, and limiting infrastructure repairs to essential requirements.
The report added that UN-wide liquidity constraints have reduced UNSOS’ operational capacity and its responsiveness to emerging threats, affecting the level and agility of logistical support delivery to AUSSOM. It stressed that these measures were intended as temporary responses to liquidity constraints and are not sustainable over the longer term without adversely affecting operational effectiveness and mandate delivery. The report further cautioned that any additional reductions in budget levels or delays in the collection of assessed contributions would significantly constrain the mission’s ability to carry out its mandated activities. Against this backdrop, the Secretary-General recommended maintaining UNSOS’ current mandated support package, including life-support and other critical enablers for AUSSOM in line with the AU’s Concept of Operations (CONOPs). Tomorrow, the briefers and Council members are likely to reiterate some of these messages and underscore the important role played by UNSOS, as well as the need for adequate funding arrangements and resources to ensure the continued provision of logistical support to AUSSOM and Somali security forces.
Diene is expected to brief on AUSSOM’s support for ongoing Somali-led operations against Al-Shabaab and provide an update on the mission’s mandate implementation and transition priorities. In this regard, resolution 2809 encouraged the AU to provide updated plans for AUSSOM’s configuration and force levels and requested the UN, jointly with the AU and the Federal Government of Somalia (FGS), to conduct regular technical assessments of progress against the benchmarks contained in a 26 November 2024 AU-UN joint report, which has not been made public.
The Secretary-General transmitted a consolidated report containing the AU-FGS-UN joint assessment requested in resolution 2809 in a 22 May letter. The report, which is not public, apparently indicated that AUSSOM continues to play a critical enabling role in sustaining joint operations and supporting Somali security institutions. It notes that the mission currently maintains deployments across 49 locations. Although the CONOPs envisages consolidation to 23 locations, the report states that the existing footprint remains necessary to prevent security vacuums as Somali security forces continue to develop operational capacity. Nevertheless, the joint assessment apparently cautioned that Al-Shabaab continues to retain the capacity to conduct asymmetric attacks, including through improvised explosive devices (IEDs), ambushes, and economic coercion, while warning that territory regained from Al-Shabaab remains vulnerable to reversal in the absence of stabilisation efforts, governance presence, and sustained logistical support.
During tomorrow’s meeting, Diene might highlight the recommendations contained in the 22 May report, which apparently called for accelerated force generation, capacity-building, and integrated operational planning between AUSSOM and Somali forces; the development of a benchmark-based framework for the phased transfer of security responsibilities to Somali authorities; and the establishment of a joint AU-FGS-UN monitoring mechanism to assess progress against agreed benchmarks and operational conditions.
Council members are likely to exchange views on AUSSOM’s long-term financing, which remains a critical issue as the mission continues to face significant funding shortfalls while supporting Somalia’s security transition in a challenging operational environment. The Secretary-General’s 29 May report included an annex that provided an update on the status of voluntary resource mobilisation towards AUSSOM’s 2025 and 2026 budget, as submitted by the AU Commission. For 2025, the report highlighted a funding gap of approximately $38.5 million against AUSSOM’s total budget of $154.7 million. According to the report, the AU Commission has noted that addressing AUSSOM’s financing needs could involve greater utilisation of the AU Peace Fund, implementation of resolution 2719 of 21 December 2023 on the use of UN-assessed contributions to finance AU-led peace support operations, and increased resource mobilisation efforts by the international community.
While Council members recognise and support addressing AUSSOM’s funding challenges, divergences persist on how to do so. The US remains strongly opposed to considering the issue within the framework of resolution 2719. Somalia and several other members, however, support the use of 2719 for AUSSOM. Several members—such as those belonging to the EU, which has been a key financial contributor to AU operations in Somalia—have stressed the importance of broadening the donor base and promoting greater cost-sharing in order to secure a sustainable funding mechanism. On the contrary, other members—such as China—have called on traditional donors to continue providing robust financial support. Tomorrow, the briefers and several Council members are likely to express concern that the absence of a clear long-term financing arrangement could undermine AUSSOM’s effectiveness, risk creating a security vacuum, and erode hard-won security gains in Somalia. They may therefore call for a pragmatic approach to securing the mission’s long-term financing.
